Davidson v. Cicuto

203 F. Supp. 833, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3220
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 6, 1962
DocketCiv. A. Nos. 60-783-60-785
StatusPublished

This text of 203 F. Supp. 833 (Davidson v. Cicuto) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Davidson v. Cicuto, 203 F. Supp. 833, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3220 (W.D. Pa. 1962).

Opinion

GOURLEY, Chief Judge.

These are three consolidated non-jury actions based upon claims for personal injuries arising out of an automobile collision.

The undisputed facts establish a collision which occurred between vehicles proceeding from opposite directions on a three-lane highway. Plaintiff, Otha Simons, Jr., was the operator of one vehicle which carried as guest passengers and plaintiffs in this proceeding, Betty Davidson and Dana Miller, a minor. The deceased defendant was the operator of the other vehicle in the collision.

[834]*834The collision occurred in the vicinity of New Castle, Pennsylvania, U. S. Route 422, where it is divided into a three-lane highway. As a result of the accident, each of the plaintiffs were injured and the defendant operator was killed.

After a most careful evaluation and consideration of all the evidence, oral and documentary, it is my considered judgment, taking into account the presumption of freedom from fault which exists on the part of the deceased defendant, that said defendant was guilty of negligence which was the proximate cause and a substantial contributing factor in bringing about the accident and that none of the plaintiffs were guilty of contributory negligence.

I am impelled to further conclude that the deceased defendant was rational and alive at the time of the accident and that he met his death as a result of the accident and was not in extremis or dying immediately before or at the time of the accident.

As a result of the accident, each of the plaintiffs sustained considerable expenses, most extensive pain, suffering and inconvenience, while plaintiff Betty Davidson sustained the additional element of impaired earning power.

DAMAGES SUSTAINED BY BETTY DAVIDSON

Betty Davidson secured a high school education and in addition to her aptitude to perform clerical work, managed a dance studio and entertained both as a singer and dancer. She possessed unusual charm.

As a result of the accident she suffered a most severe deformity of her right eye which causes double vision and materially affects her charm and beauty. This condition precipitated such despondency that on one occasion she attempted suicide. She is rendered unable to follow her profession as a dancer and entertainer and, as a consequence to the permanent condition of double vision, she is unable to pursue employment in her training for office work, bookkeeping and limited accounting.

It is my judgment that an award for pain, suffering and inconvenience, past, present and future, together with impairment of earning power, should be in the amount of $100,000.00.

In addition, Betty Davidson is responsible for the expenses of her son of a previous marriage, Dana Miller, which expenses were a proximate result of the injury sustained by the son, an additional award will be made in her favor in the amount of $1,829.49.

DAMAGES SUSTAINED BY DANA MILLER, A MINOR

Dana Miller, age fourteen at the time of the accident, sustained a fracture to his right leg, injuries to his left arm and hand causing him to lose sensation in the small finger of the left hand. With the exception of scars which mark him in various places on his body, he has made a satisfactory recovery from all other injuries and no sound basis exists to conclude that he has suffered an impairment of earning power. An award of $20,000.00 would compensate him for the injuries incurred.

DAMAGES SUSTAINED BY OTHA SIMONS, JR.

Otha Simons, Jr., sustained a fracture of the right arm, injuries to the right little finger, severe bruises of both knees and of the side of his temple. Based upon his loss of wages and the nature of his injuries, it is my judgment that an award in the amount of $20,000.00 would be consistent with the degree of injury evinced in the record.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. All of the plaintiffs are citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania residing in the Western District of Pennsylvania and the defendant is a citizen of the State of Ohio.

2. On July 16, 1960, at approximately 3:30 p. m., Betty Davidson and Dana [835]*835Miller were passengers in an automobile being driven by Otha Simons which automobile was proceeding westwardly on U. S. Route 422 toward Youngstown, Ohio. An accident occurred between this automobile and an automobile that was owned by Anthony Cicuto. The automobile of Anthony L. Cicuto, deceased, was proceeding in an easterly direction on Route 422.

3. In the afternoon of July 16, 1960, Anthony Cicuto stopped at the King’s Inn where he was served either two double shots of whiskey or one double shot of whiskey and a bottle of beer. At that time Anthony Cicuto appeared to be in an intoxicated condition and the bartender refused to serve him anything more. Cicuto staggered, acted strange, his face was flushed and he was making funny faces. Shortly thereafter, Cicuto left the tavern.

4. At that time Carl Lepisto and his wife, Laila, were in their automobile proceeding down route 422 in an easterly direction toward New Castle, Pennsylvania.

5. It was a bright, clear day and the roadway was dry.

6. The road between King’s Inn and the scene of the accident is a three-lane highway.

7. As the Lepisto car approached the King’s Inn, Carl Lepisto and his wife saw Anthony Cicuto in his car waiting to pull onto the highway. They wondered why he did not pull out since there was considerable distance between them. As they came closer, to within about 55 feet, Cicuto suddenly pulled out onto the highway in front of them.

8. The Cicuto car began to weave from the right-hand, or eastbound lane of the traffic, to the center lane and back again. The weaving continued steadily up to the time the accident happened. This would involve a distance of one or two miles and three to five minutes in time.

9. At the scene of the accident the Cicuto car was seen to weave from the eastbound lane over the center lane and onto the westbound lane of traffic. The car then proceeded down the westerly lane of traffic and the left two wheels of the car were on the berm, the right two wheels being on the highway. At this time the car in which the plaintiffs were riding was proceeding down the westerly lane of traffic and when the driver, Otha Simons, saw the Cicuto car coming toward him in the westerly lane of traffic, Simons endeavored to cut over into the center lane. At this point, the Cicuto car turned suddenly to its right or in a southerly direction and came across the westbound lane of traffic and ran into and collided with the car in which the plaintiffs were traveling at a point between the westbound lane of traffic and the center lane of traffic.

10. Anthony Cicuto died as a result of this accident and an autopsy was performed on him at the request of the deputy coroner at the Jameson Memorial Hospital, New Castle, Pennsylvania.

11. Anthony Cicuto was alive at the time the collision occurred and he died as a result of injuries received in the accident which caused his heart to go into a fatal rhythm after the shock of the impact and the gross injuries that he experienced.

12. Otha Simons, Jr., was born on May 5, 1929, and at the time of the accident here involved was 31 years of age.

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Bluebook (online)
203 F. Supp. 833, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3220, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davidson-v-cicuto-pawd-1962.