Health First, Inc. v. Cataldo

92 So. 3d 859, 2012 WL 2464680, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10556
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJune 29, 2012
DocketNo. 5D10-1686
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 92 So. 3d 859 (Health First, Inc. v. Cataldo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Health First, Inc. v. Cataldo, 92 So. 3d 859, 2012 WL 2464680, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10556 (Fla. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

COHEN, J.

Appellants, Health First, Inc. (“Health First”) and David S. Ori (“Ori”), appeal from a final judgment in excess of $2,000,000 entered against them in a personal injury case in favor of Cheryl L. Cataldo (“Cataldo”). They challenge Ca-taldo’s withdrawal of claims on the eve of trial, Cataldo’s attorney’s closing argument at trial, and attorney’s fees awarded pursuant to offers of judgment.

BACKGROUND

In 2005, Cataldo was driving her Toyota Corolla southbound on AlA in Indialantic, Florida. As she slowed to turn right, her vehicle was rear-ended on the left rear bumper by a Ford E-3501 owned by Health First and driven by its employee, Ori. Cataldo claimed that the accident •caused her head to snap forward and back, and caused what she phrased as an “explosion” and “starburst feeling” in the top and back of her head. Ori estimated he was going five to ten miles an hour when the accident occurred, yet admitted to pushing Cataldo’s car ten feet into the intersection.

Cataldo declined transport immediately following the accident. She went to the emergency room later that day, complaining of neck pain, and was diagnosed with a cervical strain. In February 2006, some five months after the accident, she underwent surgery for three herniated discs in her cervical spine. Prior to the accident, the forty-two-year-old Cataldo worked out on a regular basis and participated in triathlons and other races. She was employed as a dental hygienist and worked part-time as a bartender and waitress. She has not worked since the accident and continues to treat for medical and psychological problems allegedly caused by the crash.

On May 30, 2007, Cataldo filed suit against Health First and Ori (collectively “Defendants”), to recover damages for the injuries she sustained in the crash. Health First admitted that Ori was an employee acting within the course and scope of his employment at the time of the [862]*862accident. Liability was also admitted and the case was tried on the issue of damages.

Shortly before trial, Cataldo informed the court that she was withdrawing her claim for damages associated with her brain and dental injuries. These claims had been areas of particular dispute, as defense counsel believed Cataldo had been caught in lies during discovery that impacted these claims.2 Upon dropping the claims, Cataldo contemporaneously moved to prohibit Defendants from introducing any evidence relating to such injuries on the ground the evidence would be “collateral” to the issues being tried.

Defendants acknowledged that Cataldo was entitled to drop these claims. They nonetheless argued that the prejudice to the defense was so severe they were entitled to a continuance. Defense counsel argued that those claims were intertwined with Cataldo’s remaining claims, his trial preparation had assumed their inclusion, his cross-examination was based on the allegedly false histories Cataldo gave to her health care providers, and all of her medical records contained references to the newly dropped claims. He contended that it would be impossible for him to proceed to trial in view of the “dramatic change” made in the case. The court denied the motion for a continuance. Later at trial, motions for mistrial were made on the same basis and were also denied. The argument was also raised in Health First’s motion for new trial, wherein defense counsel argued that Cataldo’s primary claim of injury in the three years leading up to trial was a “brain injury” and that a whiplash injury was only “coincidentally” appended to this claim. Along with its ruling that Cataldo could withdraw the traumatic brain injury and dental injury pleaded in the complaint, the court ruled that Defendants would not be permitted to impeach Cataldo with evidence regarding those prior claims.

The case was tried before a jury over a period of two weeks. Cataldo sought compensation for injuries to her cervical spine, thoracic spine, and right elbow. She also claimed she suffered from severe depression as a result of the accident. In support of her claim for cervical spine, i.e., neck, injuries, Cataldo offered the testimony of three treating physicians — her neurosurgeon, a neurologist, and an orthopedic surgeon. Her witnesses testified that she had severely herniated or ruptured three discs in her back in the accident, requiring her to undergo surgery to fuse three vertebrae together. Her injuries resulted in what her neurosurgeon quantified as an impairment of eleven percent of her whole body even after treatment. Her physicians admitted that Cataldo’s spine showed minor degenerative changes prior to the accident, but denied that her post-accident problems were related to any degenerative changes. They explained that this was a “very dramatic case” and that it would have been virtually impossible for her to walk around with these injuries prior to the accident. They also testified that a low-speed crash could, in fact, cause the type of injuries suffered by Cataldo. Additional testimony indicated that the discs above and below where the vertebrae were fused showed signs of degeneration due to additional wear and tear placed on them by the fusion. This complication, the physicians opined, occurs in about thirty percent of spinal fusions, and was occurring more quickly in Cataldo than most patients. As a result, Cataldo will require additional surgery. She also suffered a [863]*863herniated disc in her thoracic spine that cannot be treated by surgery.

There was also testimony that Cataldo has become severely depressed because of her injuries and that her depression is permanent. Her psychologist has been seeing her every two or three weeks since October 2006 for depression and has tested her on several occasions since the accident. He saw no signs of deception and testified that her depression has worsened significantly since she was first tested in 2005. She is now severely depressed and has chronic pain syndrome. She also has anxiety associated with the depression. The psychologist believed that the problems were caused by the motor vehicle accident in September 2005. He further explained she is no longer able to work and is in need of ongoing therapy to aid in accepting her limitations.

A life care plan was prepared for Catal-do, with the aid of the specialists who had treated her. The life plan predicted precisely what kind of medical and other care she will need as a result of the accident, and included projected costs. An expert testified that Cataldo’s limitations made her incapable of working. She was earning $46,804 a year when the accident occurred.

Frederick Raffa, Ph.D., expanded on the life plan. He testified that Cataldo was 42.6 years of age when the accident occurred and has a life expectancy of 82.61 years. Her past lost wages are $212,372, while her future lost wages reduced to their present value are $944,802. The present value of her future medical care is $962,145 or $963,186, depending on which of two treatment options she chooses.

Defendants essentially conceded the claim for injuries to Cataldo’s elbow, which had been surgically treated and presented few recurring problems as of trial. They contested the remaining claims, contending that the accident was a low-impact incident that caused nothing more than a soft-tissue cervical strain. They insisted that Ca-taldo was exaggerating her injuries, some of which preexisted the accident, and that Cataldo had misrepresented various aspects of the accident and her prior medical care. They called a series of witnesses to support this contention.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
92 So. 3d 859, 2012 WL 2464680, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10556, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/health-first-inc-v-cataldo-fladistctapp-2012.