Barras v. Progressive Security Insurance Co.

157 So. 3d 1185, 14 La.App. 3 Cir. 898, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 265, 2015 WL 542746
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 11, 2015
DocketNo. CA 14-898
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 157 So. 3d 1185 (Barras v. Progressive Security Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barras v. Progressive Security Insurance Co., 157 So. 3d 1185, 14 La.App. 3 Cir. 898, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 265, 2015 WL 542746 (La. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

SAVOIE, Judge.

_JjPlaintiffs, Nicole and Nolan Barras and their five minor children, appeal the jury verdict award as abusively low. For the following reasons, we amend and affirm.

ISSUES PRESENTED

1. Did Mrs. Barras establish that she incurred compensable past medical expenses in the amount of $23,641.96, thus requiring an increase in the jury’s award of $21,641.96 for past medical expenses?
2. Did the jury err in its failure to award future medical expenses to [1188]*1188Mrs. Barras in light of the evidence presented?
3. Did the jury abuse its discretion by awarding Mrs. Barras only $25,000 in general damages for past and future mental and physical pain and suffering for the injuries she alleged were caused by this automobile accident?
4. Does an injured party’s duty to mitigate damages include consenting to aggressive medical treatment or intrusive medical procedures when the injured party’s pre-accident lifestyle is one that embraced homeopathy, alternative medicines, natural remedies, and herbal supplements?
5. Did the jury abuse its discretion by awarding only $5,000 to Mrs. Barras for her loss of enjoyment of life?
6. Did the jury abuse its discretion by awarding only $2,000 to Mr. Barras for the loss of consortium he experienced as a consequence of his wife’s accident-related injuries?
7. Did the jury abuse its discretion by making minimal awards of damages to the five Barras children for the loss of consortium when their loss of educational benefits and the negative impact of Mrs. Barras’ frequent absences from the family home were extreme as a consequence of this automobile accident?
8.Should “loss of education benefits” be designated as a separate element of damages for homeschooled children and what factors should be considered in determining the value of a child’s loss of education benefits when the parent who sustains bodily injuries is the primary educator of homeschooled minor children?

J¡FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, Nicole Barras, was involved in an automobile accident on November 29, 2011, wherein she sustained multiple bodily injuries. She sued the driver Fred Landry, Sr. and his insurance provider, Progressive Security Insurance Company (“defendants”), for damages sustained as a result of the collision. Nicole Barras’s husband, Nolan Barras, and their five minor children also sued the defendants for their loss of consortium claims. The issue of liability was stipulated at trial. After a trial by jury, the following damages were awarded to Nicole Barras:

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Nolan Barras and the five Barras children were awarded the following damages for their loss of consortium claims:

Nolan Barras $2,000.00

Saul Barras $1,500.00

Lucy Barras $1,000.00

Agnes Barras $1,000.00

Süas Barras $500.00

Manon Barras $500.00

The plaintiffs appeal the damage amounts awarded as abusively low. Plaintiffs also contend that the jury miscalculated the past medical award and committed manifest error in its failure to award future medical expenses.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

Standard of Review

We review a jury’s findings of fact utilizing a manifest error standard. [1189]*1189Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840 (La.1989). After reviewing the record in |3its entirety, we must find that no reasonable factual basis exists for the jury’s finding and that the finding is clearly wrong in order to reverse the jury’s award. Stobart v. State, through Dept. of Transp. and Dev., 617 So.2d 880 (La.1993). “[Reasonable evaluations of credibility and reasonable inferences of fact should not be disturbed upon review, even though the appellate court may feel that its own evaluations and inferences are as reasonable.” Rosell, 549 So.2d at 844. The cause of a person’s injuries is a question of fact reviewed under the manifest error standard. Housley v. Cerise, 579 So.2d 973 (La.1991). “In the assessment of damages in cases of offenses, quasi offenses, and quasi contracts, much discretion must be left to the judge or jury.” La.Civ.Code art. 2324.1. The jury’s award of damages is a factual determination entitled to great deference on review. Guillory v. Lee, 09-75 (La.6/26/09), 16 So.3d 1104. We will not disturb an award of damages unless we find the jury abused its very great discretion. Rando v. Anco Insulations Inc., 08-1163 (La.5/22/09), 16 So.3d 1065.

Past Medical Expenses

Nicole Barras contends that the jury erred in its failure to award the full amount of the past medical expenses she incurred as a result of the accident. The total amount of the past medical expenses introduced into evidence and requested by Mrs. Barras was $23,641.96. The jury awarded $21,641.96 in past medical expenses.

Gradnigo v. Louisiana Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co., 08-1198, pp. 15-16 (La.App. 3 Cir. 3/4/09), 6 So.3d 367, 377 (quoting Simon v. Lacoste, 05-550, p. 3 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/30/05), 918 So.2d 1102, 1104-05), discussed the standard of review regarding medical expenses as follows:

|4[W]hen a plaintiff alleges that medical expenses were incurred “and that allegation is supported by a bill, unless there is sufficient contradictory evidence or reasonable suspicion that the bill is unrelated to the accident, it is sufficient to support the inclusion of that item in the judgment.” [Esté v. State Farm Ins. Co., 96-99, p. 10 (La.App. 3 Cir. 7/10/96), 676 So.2d 850, 857.] A fact finder errs if it fails to award the full amount of medical expenses incurred as a result of the accident and proven by a preponderance of the evidence. Revel v. Snow, 95-462[ (]La.App. 3 Cir. 11/2/95), 664 So.2d 655, writ denied, 95-2820 (La.2/2/96), 666 So.2d 1084.

It is Mrs. Barras’s position that the jury should have awarded the entirety of the medical bills introduced into evidence. To substantiate this contention, she points to another amount awarded by the jury — the transportation award. The jury was asked to calculate the mileage traveled by Nicole Barras to and from medical appointments and award this amount as an item of damages. The total amount requested for this item of damages was $3,850. This represents 100% of the miles traveled for medical treatments, including the massage treatments. The jury accepted this amount as evidenced by their award of $3,850 for-transportation expenses. Mrs. Barras suggests that, because the jury awarded the transportation expenses inclusive of the massage treatments, the past medical expenses award should have included the amount for the massages as well.

The defendants’ argued this accident exacerbated a pre-existing condition and, during closing argument, suggested that Mrs. Barras’s pain was back to pre-acci-dent levels by the end of 2012. The evi[1190]*1190dence showed that Nicole Barras last saw her treating physician, Dr. Bozelle, and her chiropractor, Dr. Savoy, in November of 2012.

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157 So. 3d 1185, 14 La.App. 3 Cir. 898, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 265, 2015 WL 542746, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barras-v-progressive-security-insurance-co-lactapp-2015.