Jackovic v. Webb

2013 Ohio 2520
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 19, 2013
Docket26555
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 2013 Ohio 2520 (Jackovic v. Webb) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jackovic v. Webb, 2013 Ohio 2520 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

[Cite as Jackovic v. Webb, 2013-Ohio-2520.]

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF SUMMIT )

SHERI JACKOVIC, et al. C.A. No. 26555

Appellants

v. APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE MARY WEBB COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF SUMMIT, OHIO Appellee CASE No. CV 11 03 1245

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY

Dated: June 19, 2013

HENSAL, Judge.

{¶1} Sheri and Donald Jackovic appeal a judgment of the Summit County Common

Pleas Court denying their motions for directed verdict, judgment notwithstanding the verdict and

new trial. For the following reasons, this Court affirms in part and reverses in part.

I.

{¶2} On July 16, 2007, Mrs. Jackovic was carpooling to work with Stacy Davidson

when Mary Webb, one of their coworkers, crashed her car into the front-passenger side of Ms.

Davidson’s car. Ms. Davidson estimated that she was driving at approximately 40 miles per

hour at the time. The collision spun Ms. Davidson’s car, and the two cars ended up crashing into

each other a second time. The collisions caused the airbags in Ms. Davidson’s car to deploy,

with the passenger-side airbag striking Mrs. Jackovic in the chest. According to Ms. Davidson,

following the collisions, Mrs. Jackovic grabbed her chest and started screaming. Mrs. Jackovic

testified that her chest hurt so much after the collisions that she thought she was having a heart 2

attack. Ms. Davidson testified that, when emergency personnel arrived, they put Mrs. Jackovic

on a stretcher and took her to an ambulance. At the time, Mrs. Jackovic was wheezing and

having trouble breathing. Mrs. Jackovic confirmed that she was transported by stretcher to an

ambulance where she was given oxygen.

{¶3} According to Mrs. Jackovic, the ambulance took her to a hospital, where doctors

took x-rays and gave her muscle relaxers. Dr. Martin Hellman diagnosed her as having a chest

wall contusion and cervical strain. Dr. Brianne Cicchani prescribed her pain medication and

muscle relaxants, released her from the hospital, and told her to follow-up with her regular

doctor in three to five days.

{¶4} Mrs. Jackovic testified that, in addition to the pain in her chest, the accident also

injured her neck, which caused her to develop headaches on a regular basis. She testified that,

although her doctor prescribed a couple of different drugs for treatment, her neck pain did not

resolve. Her doctor, therefore, referred her to a physical therapist, but the pain only got worse.

According to Mrs. Jackovic, she still had daily neck pain and headaches at the time of trial.

{¶5} The Jackovics sued Ms. Webb for negligence and loss of consortium. At trial,

Ms. Webb admitted that she had been negligent. She argued, however, that Mrs. Jackovic did

not suffer any damages that were proximately caused by her negligence. At the conclusion of

the trial, the Jackovics moved for a directed verdict, but the trial court denied their motion. A

jury found in favor of Ms. Webb, and awarded the Jackovics zero damages. The Jackovics

moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for a new trial, but the court denied their

motions. The Jackovics have appealed, assigning four errors. 3

II.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR I

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED, TO THE PREJUDICE OF SHERI JACKOVIC AND DONALD JACKOVIC, BY DENYING THEIR MOTION FOR DIRECTED VERDICT ON THE ISSUE OF CAUSATION.

{¶6} The Jackovics argue that the trial court should have granted their motion for

directed verdict because they established causation of the emergency-medical-care that Mrs.

Jackovic received immediately following the accident as a matter of law. “Under Civ.R.

50(A)(4), a motion for a directed verdict should be granted if ‘the trial court, after construing the

evidence most strongly in favor of the party against whom the motion is directed, finds that upon

any determinative issue reasonable minds could come to but one conclusion upon the evidence

submitted and that conclusion is adverse to such party.’” Bennett v. Admir., Ohio Bur. of

Workers’ Comp., 134 Ohio St.3d 329, 2012-Ohio-5639, ¶ 14, quoting Civ.R. 50(A)(4).

“Because a motion for a directed verdict presents a question of law, appellate review of a trial

court’s decision on the motion is de novo.” Id.

{¶7} According to the Jackovics, under Revised Code Section 2317.421, there is a

presumption that the medical bills they submitted regarding Mrs. Jackovic’s emergency medical

care were reasonable. They argue that, because of the presumption of reasonableness, in order to

recover their expenses, all they had to show was that the care Mrs. Jackovic received was

necessary following the accident. They argue that, in light of seriousness of the accident and the

pain that Mrs. Jackovic felt immediately after it, there can be no doubt that the ambulance and

hospital-emergency-room services she sought were proximately caused by Ms. Webb’s negligent

conduct.

{¶8} The term proximate cause: 4

[I]s often difficult of exact definition as applied to the facts of a particular case. However, it is generally true that, where an original act is wrongful or negligent and in a natural and continuous sequence produces a result which would not have taken place without the act, proximate cause is established, and the fact that some other act unites with the original act to cause injury does not relieve the initial offender from liability.

Clinger v. Duncan, 166 Ohio St. 216, 222 (1957). “[B]ecause what constitutes a ‘natural and

continuous sequence’ is insusceptible of determination other than in the context of a particular

case[,] * * * the issue of proximate cause is ordinarily one for determination by the jury.”

Ornella v. Robertson, 14 Ohio St. 2d 144, 151 (1968). “However, where reasonable minds could

not differ with respect to the matter because the circumstances clearly indicate an obvious cause

and effect relationship, the issue may be determined as a matter of law.” Id.; Waugh v.

Chakonas, 9th Dist. Nos. 25417, 25480, 2011-Ohio-2764, ¶ 16.

{¶9} The Jackovics argue that there is no question that it was appropriate for Mrs.

Jackovic to seek emergency medical care following the accident for the bruising to her chest and

the strain in her neck. They assert that the direct and uninterrupted series of events establish

causation as a matter of law. Ms. Webb, on the other hand, argues that there was a question of

fact regarding whether Mrs. Jackovic needed medical treatment immediately following the

accident. They note that Mrs. Jackovic’s medical records show that she was able to walk into the

hospital on her own and that a nurse reported that Mrs. Jackovic was “laughing and talking with

visitors” while at the hospital. According to the nurse’s report, Mrs. Jackovic was in “no

obvious distress.”

{¶10} Upon review of the record, we conclude that the circumstances clearly indicate a

causal relationship between the accident and Mrs. Jackovic’s emergency medical care. It is

obvious that a reasonably prudent person who was in an accident as serious as the one Mrs.

Jackovic was in and who was, uncontrovertibly, experiencing significant chest pain would seek 5

immediate evaluation and treatment from emergency medical personnel. Although Mrs.

Jackovic may have felt well enough by the time she arrived at the hospital to laugh and talk with

others, it cannot reasonably be disputed that it was appropriate for her to get examined for any

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