Rear-end accident victim gets a bump in damages
It’s pretty rare for a court to step in and actually raise a jury’s award of damages in a personal injury case.
If anything, courts tend to find that juries are too generous, subjecting cases to the microscope to ensure that each element of a damage award is supported by the law and the evidence.
So Calogero Raimondo has to feel like something of a lottery winner after seeing her damages in a rear-end collision case raised nearly four times the amount a jury saw fit to award.
Her case highlights some of the angles for plaintiffs’ attorneys to pursue when a jury just doesn’t appreciate the chronic pain a client will have to deal with for the rest of her life.
Rear-end collision
Raimondo was a 34-year-old office assistant for AT&T when she suffered neck and back injuries in a September 2007 rear-end collision in Lafayette, Louisiana.
A state jury found the other driver, Kristin Hayes, liable. The only problem was damages.
Now, Raimondo’s injuries didn’t result in surgery.
And ultimately that may have been the reason the jury only awarded general damages in the amount of $17,500 — $10,000 for the physical injury, $7,000 for pain and suffering, and $500 for loss of enjoyment of life.
Of course, she received another $25,000 for past and future medical expenses, but still the jury’s award didn’t seem nearly enough.
An MRI established that Raimondo suffered disc injuries at levels L4-5 and L5-S1 (lower back), as well as T6-7, and T8-9 (mid back), but the jury was apparently more impressed by the fact that tests revealed no nerve impingement or neurological deficits at those levels.
The jury also may have been swayed by the fact that Raimondo was able to reach maximum medical improvement through a regime of physical therapy, muscle relaxers and pain medications.
But her doctor testified that Raimondo would be dealing with pain for the rest of her life, so in that light the jury award seemed problematic.
‘Abusively low’ damages
Last month, the Louisiana Court of Appeals came down on the side of Raimondo, finding the jury’s award of $17,500 in general damages “abusively low” and increasing it to $65,000.
In turn, the court addressed: (1) the fact that Raimondo’s injuries had not resulted in surgery; (2) evidence that physical therapy had fully resolved her neck problems and helped her lingering back problems; and (3) how to place a value on the pain and suffering hat she would continue to endure.
The defendant, Hayes, at trial and on appeal had made much of the fact that Raimondo had not undergone surgery.
The Louisiana Court of Appeals saw this as something of a red herring, pointing out that Raimondo’s orthopedic surgeon — Dr. Louis Blanda — had recommended against epidural steroid injections or surgery in favor of more conservative treatment because she had preexisting asthma and was on blood anticoagulants.
The court remarked that “Hayes states in brief that Dr. Blanda found that surgery was not necessary in this case. This is not accurate. Dr. Blanda’s testimony … indicates that surgery was not appropriate due to her preexisting conditions. This is significantly different from what Hayes contends, i.e., that surgery was not necessary.”
The court also dismissed Hayes’ contention that physical therapy had been “successful” in treating Raimondo’s injuries.
“It is clear from [Dr. Blanda’s] testimony that even if physical therapy was successful, as was the case with Raimondo, she still would continue to have chronic pain,” the court said. “Thus, Hayes’ statement that Raimondo’s injuries were successfully treated via physical therapy does not fully encapsulate Raimondo’s situation regarding her mid and lower back pain.”
These side issues addressed, the court came to the nut of the matter: because of the accident, Raimondo lives with lingering pain.
“While Raimondo’s disc injuries did not include any neurological deficits, it is clear that she will continue to suffer chronic pain for the remainder of her life,” the court said. “Given that Raimondo was in her mid-thirties when this accident occurred, we find that the lowest amount reasonably within the discretion of the jury for her general damages is $65,000.” (Raimondo v. Hayes)
— Pat Murphy
