Deas v. Andrews

411 So. 2d 1286
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedMay 26, 1982
Docket53108
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 411 So. 2d 1286 (Deas v. Andrews) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Deas v. Andrews, 411 So. 2d 1286 (Mich. 1982).

Opinion

411 So.2d 1286 (1982)

George W. DEAS, d/b/a Deas Tire Company
v.
Willie Edward ANDREWS.

No. 53108.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

March 31, 1982.
Rehearing Denied April 21, 1982.
On Motion May 26, 1982.

*1287 White & Morse, Stanford E. Morse, Jr., Gulfport, for appellant.

Holleman & Krogstad, Boyce Holleman, Jim W. Rose, Gulfport (Blackwell, Owen & Galloway, Ben T. Galloway, Gulfport, On Motion Under Rule 19 to Correct Judgment), for appellee.

Before SMITH, ROY NOBLE LEE and BOWLING, JJ.

On Motion Under Rule 19 to Correct Judgment May 26, 1982.

SMITH, Presiding Justice, for the Court:

Willie E. Andrews brought suit in the Circuit Court of Harrison County against George W. Deas, d/b/a Deas Tire Company, demanding damages for personal injuries alleged to have been sustained when he was backed into by Deas' truck. Following a trial, the jury returned a verdict for Andrews against Deas in the sum of $202,000. From the judgment entered pursuant thereto, Deas has prosecuted this appeal.

Andrews was a truck driver, operating eighteen wheeler tractor-trailer trucks for his employer, Gulf Coast Pre-Stress Company, earning $13,750.00 per year. Deas was under contract with Gulf Coast Pre-Stress to service the tires on its several vehicles. On November 11, 1977, Deas' service truck was upon the premises of Gulf Coast Pre-Stress in the course of providing this service under the contract. Andrews' boss, who was standing somewhere behind the Deas' truck, called to Andrews and Andrews walked over to him. At this time, the Deas truck, without warning, began backing and its corrugated steel bumper struck Andrews in the back of his leg beneath his left knee (on the upper part of his calf), causing Andrews' leg to buckle and him to "sit down" on or against the rear part of the backing truck in such a manner that the bumper struck the back of Andrews' left leg above the knee (on the lower part of his thigh).

On the date of the above occurrence, Andrews was fifty-seven years old and suffered from diabetes for which he was under treatment by diet and medication. There was also testimony that prior to the injuries sustained when he was hit by the Deas' truck, Andrews also suffered "moderate to severe" atherosclerosis in both legs, and diseased arterioles, a condition which was related to Andrews' habit of heavy smoking and to his diabetic condition. Andrews testified that following his injury, although he experienced considerable pain (which he compared to "a fire" going through his leg), he did not immediately consult a doctor. During this period his wife provided conservative treatment with ointment and massage, and he continued to work, making a number of trips for his employer. From November 11 to December 30, Andrews' condition continued to worsen. He developed a limp in his left leg and there was testimony that his left foot became cold to the touch. It appears that between the happening of the incident in which Andrews was injured and his first consultation with his doctor, on December 30 Andrews, although he suffered pain and some disability, did not consider that his injury portended serious consequences. But Andrews' condition reached a point where he found it necessary to consult his family physician, Doctor Barkley, a Gulf Coast surgeon, and he did so on December 30. Andrews' examination by Doctor Barkley revealed a "cold" left foot and reduced pulse in Andrews' lower leg and suggested to the doctor that Andrews should return for further examination and tests by his associate, Doctor Sproles. When Doctor Sproles examined Andrews on January 4 it was apparent that, while Andrews' right foot had good blood flow, there was an occlusion in the superficial femoral artery in his left leg, with a pulse so low that Doctor Sproles and Doctor Barkley considered that immediate surgery was required to restore blood flow to Andrews' *1288 left foot and the distal portion of his left leg.

On January 15 Doctors Sproles and Barkley operated on Andrews' left leg. Incisions were made in the femoral artery in the groin area and in the popliteal artery just below the kneefold, connecting the ends with a dacron tube which bypassed the occlusion. However, the bypass proved ineffective and blood was not reaching the left foot and lower left leg, so that, in the opinion of the doctors, gangrene impended. Increased and more severe pain was now suffered by Andrews requiring large doses of pain reliever. The graft itself occluded and pain had become worse and unremitting and Andrews requested that his left leg be amputated. In the opinion of the surgeons at this point it was impossible to save the left leg because gangrene was imminent and would threaten Andrews' life. On February 4 Andrews left leg was amputated. Following the removal of Andrews' leg, he remained in the hospital for a month. He continued to see Doctor Sproles after leaving the hospital. He continued to treat the healing stump and eventually prescribed a "suction socket" artificial leg. This was fitted but gave Andrews considerable discomfort. There is testimony about Andrews' difficulty in this area in learning to use the artificial leg and coping with the phantom pains from the nonexistent foot and leg.

Notwithstanding all of the above, during his recuperation Andrews declared that he would be able to return to driving large trucks and that he would do so as soon as he could operate his artificial leg properly. This, however, proved impossible.

Andrews' case was made out by his own testimony and that of his wife, and by the testimony of Doctors Sproles and Barkley. The circumstances relating to Andrews' injury by the backing truck was established by Andrews' testimony and that of Bill Brown and Mel Cooper. Andrews and his wife testified as to the progression of the injury and Doctors Sproles and Barkley as to the cause and medical aspects of the femoral artery occlusion.

There seems to be no real dispute as to the manner in which Andrews was injured. The real issue in the case relates to whether the trauma which resulted when the Deas' truck had been backed into him caused or contributed to the occlusion of the femoral artery in Andrews' left leg and consequent loss of his leg, or whether, as contended by Deas, the occlusion and its consequences resulted solely in Andrews' existing diabetic condition and the condition of his arteries at the time. This issue was addressed by the testimony of eight medical experts, four testifying on each side.

No question is raised on appeal as to the qualifications of any of the expert medical witnesses.

Andrews offered the testimony of Doctors Sproles and Barkley. Andrews had been under Doctor Barkley's care on several occasions in 1976-1977, including treatment and surgery in connection with a perianal abscess and gallbladder. On December 30, 1977 (following the incident with the Deas' truck on November 11, 1977), when Andrews saw Doctor Barkley, he was complaining of nausea and pains in the calf of his left leg. Andrews gave a history as having been hit by a truck some three months before. Doctor Barkley could discover no pulse in the left foot and ankle and asked Doctor Sproles to perform a doplar examination to determine the flow of blood in the left leg. Doctor Sproles placed Andrews in the hospital and performed some angiograms (x-rays made with a contrasting dye injected into the aorta). These disclosed an occlusion in the superficial femoral artery in the left leg which completely cut off the blood flow into that artery.

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Bluebook (online)
411 So. 2d 1286, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deas-v-andrews-miss-1982.