Cindy Aych Versus State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Alfortish Enterprises, L.L.C. and Madison Randon

CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 31, 2023
Docket23-CA-89
StatusUnknown

This text of Cindy Aych Versus State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Alfortish Enterprises, L.L.C. and Madison Randon (Cindy Aych Versus State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Alfortish Enterprises, L.L.C. and Madison Randon) 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
Cindy Aych Versus State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Alfortish Enterprises, L.L.C. and Madison Randon, (La. Ct. App. 2023).

Opinion

CINDY AYCH NO. 23-CA-89

VERSUS FIFTH CIRCUIT

STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE COURT OF APPEAL INSURANCE COMPANY, ALFORTISH ENTERPRISES, L.L.C. AND MADISON STATE OF LOUISIANA RANDON

ON APPEAL FROM THE TWENTY-FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT PARISH OF JEFFERSON, STATE OF LOUISIANA NO. 774-008, DIVISION "C" HONORABLE JUNE B. DARENSBURG, JUDGE PRESIDING

October 31, 2023

SUSAN M. CHEHARDY CHIEF JUDGE

Panel composed of Judges Susan M. Chehardy, Fredericka Homberg Wicker, and Stephen J. Windhorst

AFFIRMED SMC FHW SJW COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLEE, CINDY AYCH Dominick F. Impastato, III Marc L. Frischhertz

COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT/APPELLANT, STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, ALFORTISH ENTERPRISES, L.L.C. AND MADISON RANDON Matthew A. Mang Victoria H. Fabre CHEHARDY, C.J.

Defendants-appellants, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company,

Alfortish Enterprises, L.L.C., and Ms. Madison Randon, appeal the trial court’s

judgment, entered on the jury’s verdict, awarding plaintiff-appellee Cindy Aych

$187,000 in damages for alleged injuries resulting from an automobile accident.

For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment.

Facts and Procedural History

On July 17, 2016, Ms. Randon, while working for Alfortish Enterprises,

rear-ended Cindy Aych’s vehicle on David Drive in Jefferson Parish. Dr. Timothy

Kern, a chiropractor, began treating Ms. Aych for back and neck pain three days

after her July 2016 accident. After approximately six months of conservative

treatment, Dr. Kern referred Ms. Aych to a neurosurgeon because her symptoms

had not subsided.

Ms. Aych filed suit against Ms. Randon; her employer, Alfortish

Enterprises; and its insurer, State Farm. The defendants stipulated to fault, so the

only issue presented to the jury was the nature and extent of Ms. Aych’s damages

as a result of the accident. After a three-day trial, the jury awarded Ms. Aych

$37,000 in past medical expenses, $75,000 for past pain and suffering, and $75,000

for future pain and suffering. The jury did not award any damages for future

medical expenses, past or future loss of earnings, or past or future mental anguish

and distress.

Dr. Kern, Ms. Aych’s chiropractor, testified at trial that plaintiff complained

of pain in her neck, mid-back, and upper back, as well as trapezius muscle pain. At

the time of her initial visit, Dr. Kern stated that she had a limited range of motion.

Dr. Kern provided various treatments and referred Ms. Aych out for an MRI of her

neck. The 2016 MRI showed various levels of disc herniation, as well as an

annular fissure, or a little bit of cracking, in the disc, all of which were causing her

23-CA-89 1 pain. Dr. Kern noted that Ms. Aych had spasms in the cervical spine from cervical

levels 4 through 7, bilaterally, and that the trapezius muscle, which runs from the

base of the skull into the mid back and out to the shoulders, was hypersensitive and

spasmatic. The erector spinae muscles, which run on both sides of the spinal

column, thoracic level 1 through 6, were also spasmatic. Dr. Kern testified that

those injuries were more likely than not related to her July 17, 2016 accident. Dr.

Kern did not diagnose Ms. Aych with any kind of disability or physical

impairment. On March 31, 2017, after several months of chiropractic treatment,

Dr. Kern referred Ms. Aych to a neurologist, Dr. Bartholomew, and Dr. Kern did

not see her again until November 16, 2017.

Dr. Barczyk, another chiropractor who is also a biomechanist and an

accident reconstructionist, testified at trial as an expert on plaintiff’s behalf. Dr.

Barczyk concluded that plaintiff’s injuries and symptoms were consistent with the

July 2016 accident. He estimated that the “speed change” or “Delta V” to

plaintiff’s vehicle as a result of the impact from the rear-end collision was likely

under six miles per hour. Dr. Barczyk testified that it was likely that plaintiff

interacted with the head restraint and the seat and then bounced forward. He noted

that plaintiff had limited range of motion and muscle spasms shortly after the

accident. There were also no MRIs taken following previous accidents with which

to compare her post-accident MRI taken in 2016. As far as Dr. Barczyk knew,

there was nothing remarkable in her history for two or three years before her 2016

accident, however, he testified that the MRI showed certain degenerative disc

issues, or normal age-related processes often found in people over the age of forty.

Ms. Aych testified that she began experiencing pain on the evening of the

accident. She stated that her neck hurt, and she started experiencing pain shooting

from her neck down her right arm. She saw Dr. Kern for treatment three days after

the accident, and although the pain never went away, it became more bearable. In

23-CA-89 2 February of 2017 she began treatment with Dr. Bartholomew, whom she told about

her pain running all the way down to her fingers, causing tingling. He prescribed

various medications and then performed facet blocks in May 2017, putting her

under general anesthesia. Ms. Aych testified that the facet blocks helped for about

a week or two, but then the pain returned. Dr. Defrancesch subsequently performed

medial branch blocks in August 2017, which helped only temporarily. On October

25, 2017, Dr. Bartholomew performed radio frequency rhizotomy, which helped

for approximately two weeks, after which the pain returned. At that point, Dr.

Bartholomew ordered an MRI, which was performed on January 8, 2018. Dr.

Bartholomew recommended neck surgery, which would require her to remain at

home without working for 8 to 12 weeks.

Ms. Aych testified that the pain made it difficult for her to fall asleep and

difficult to maintain her everyday life. She cannot sit for long periods of time, so

travel with her family has become more expensive because often she has to fly. If

she does travel in the car, she has to stop frequently or sometimes lie down in the

car. She has throbbing pain in her neck, and she cannot do the same things that she

used to do with her grandkids, such as keeping all of them at the same time. Now

she can only walk for short periods of time before needing to rest. As her youngest

grandchild grows, it is more difficult to hold him. Although she maintains her job

as a Jefferson Parish bus driver, she takes Aleve almost every day to manage the

pain.

Ms. Aych also testified that she had gastric sleeve surgery in 2016, and

before the July 2016 accident, she lost approximately 60 pounds because she was

walking three miles a day and lifting weights, activities that she stopped doing

after the accident. She still has not fully recovered from her injuries caused by the

2016 accident.

23-CA-89 3 Ms. Aych further testified as to her previous auto accidents. In 1995, she

was involved in an accident that required chiropractic treatment similar to the

treatment she received from Dr. Kern. In 2001, she was a backseat passenger in

someone’s vehicle that was rear-ended on St. Claude Avenue. After the 2001

accident, she sought treatment from Dr. Ott for neck and back pain. In 2008 she

was involved in another rear-ended accident on Downman and Chef Menteur in

New Orleans. Ms. Aych explained that after undergoing approximately six months

of therapy after the 2008 accident, she had no complaints. Ms. Aych did not

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Lindsay v. USAA Property and Cas. Ins. Co.
830 So. 2d 335 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2002)
Lucas v. Ins. Co. of North America
342 So. 2d 591 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1977)
Guillory v. Lee
16 So. 3d 1104 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2009)
Harrington v. Wilson
8 So. 3d 30 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009)
Poland v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.
885 So. 2d 1144 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2003)
Beausejour v. Percy
996 So. 2d 625 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2008)
Wainwright v. Fontenot
774 So. 2d 70 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2000)
Davis v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
774 So. 2d 84 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2000)
Maranto v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
650 So. 2d 757 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1995)
Housley v. Cerise
579 So. 2d 973 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1991)
Belle Pass Terminal, Inc. v. Jolin, Inc.
634 So. 2d 466 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1994)
Detraz v. Lee
950 So. 2d 557 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2007)
Adams v. Rhodia, Inc.
983 So. 2d 798 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2008)
Thomas v. Comfort Center of Monroe, LA, Inc.
48 So. 3d 1228 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
Clement v. Carbon
153 So. 3d 460 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
Romero-Zambrano v. Bell
165 So. 3d 143 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2014)
Oregan v. Cashio
220 So. 3d 845 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Cindy Aych Versus State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Alfortish Enterprises, L.L.C. and Madison Randon, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cindy-aych-versus-state-farm-mutual-automobile-insurance-company-alfortish-lactapp-2023.