Kravinsky v. Glover

396 A.2d 1349, 263 Pa. Super. 8, 1979 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1779
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 19, 1979
Docket1930
StatusPublished
Cited by106 cases

This text of 396 A.2d 1349 (Kravinsky v. Glover) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kravinsky v. Glover, 396 A.2d 1349, 263 Pa. Super. 8, 1979 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1779 (Pa. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinions

HOFFMAN, Judge:

Appellant contends that the lower court erred in (1) qualifying a behavior therapist as an expert on causation, (2) finding that the therapist’s testimony was sufficient to establish causation, and (3) admitting certain bills of expenses into evidence and, as a result, refusing to grant a new trial on damages because the verdict was excessive. We find that $380 of expenses were improperly admitted and, accordingly, direct that the judgment in favor of appellee be reduced by that amount. In all other respects, we affirm the order of the lower court.

On May 22,1970, at approximately 8:00 a. m., the automobile driven by appellant Glover collided with the automobile in which appellee Reeda Kravinsky was a passenger. On April 19,1972, Reeda Kravinsky filed a complaint in trespass alleging that appellant’s negligent operation of his car caused the collision and that as a result, she suffered certain physical injuries, pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of earnings, acute anxiety, and “aggravation of a pre-existing emotional disorder with development of severe phobia.”1 On March 31, 1977, the lower court, in a nonjury trial, heard testimony, initially on damages and then on liability.

[14]*14After appellant waived objection to Dr. Donald Stoltz’s qualifications as a treating osteopathic physician, Dr. Stoltz testified that, on May 22, 1970, he examined Reeda Kravinsky and diagnosed her condition as:

“A. . . . Contusion of the right knee and leg. Contusion of the right arm and elbow with marked discoloration and swelling.
“Acute cervical sprain with cervical and thoracic myositis and muscular spasm. Acute low back sprain with marked lumbar myalgia. Post-traumatic headaches and vertigo. Acute anxiety.”

Dr. Stolz sent Mrs. Kravinsky to a Dr. Anthony Borden for x-ray studies of her cervical spine, dorsal spine, right shoulder and arm. On the basis of what the Kravinskys told him about the collision, his physical examination of Mrs. Kravinsky, and Dr. Borden’s report on her x-rays, Dr. Stoltz prescribed a course of treatment for Mrs. Kravinsky of physical therapy — specifically, diathermy, ultrasound, and manipulation — and drug therapy — analgesics, muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatory enzymes, sedatives and tranquilizers for Mrs. Kravinsky’s “anxiety, as far as the fear that she had . . .Dr. Stoltz did not describe the anxiety in more detail or identify the object of her fear. He further testified that, based on his physical examinations of Mr. and Mrs. Kravinsky and what they told him about the collision, he “would say that the injuries that they suffered from were sustained in an automobile accident on the date of the incident.”

Dr. Stoltz treated Mrs. Kravinsky in his office on 34 occasions, the last visit occurring on September 8, 1970; he charged her $15 for the initial visit and $6 for each visit thereafter, for a total bill of $213. Over appellant’s objection, Dr. Stoltz identified Dr. Borden’s $90 medical bill for the x-ray studies performed on Mrs. Kravinsky at his request; Dr. Borden did not testify. The court admitted into evidence both Dr. Stoltz’s bill and, over appellant’s objection, Dr. Borden’s bill.

[15]*15Over appellant’s objection, the lower court ruled that the second witness, Dr. L. Michael Ascher, a behavior therapist,2 was qualified3 to testify as an expert psychologist. He testified that he treated Mrs. Kravinsky, unsuccessfully, in 10 sessions from November 25, 1975 to February 24, 1976, using a desensitization technique.4 Each session cost $50, for a total of $500. During his initial interview with Mrs. Kravinsky on November 25, 1975, Dr. Ascher obtained her general history but focused on her driving behavior and driving-related incidents. From this history, he learned that in March 1970, the brakes in her car failed while she was driving. This experience upset her, and, although she continued to drive in an efficient manner, she sought the assistance of a psychologist shortly thereafter. Immediately after the collision on May 22, 1970, she did not drive at all for some period of time. When Dr. Ascher saw her in November 1975, Mrs. Kravinsky was driving occasionally but always “at a very slow speed . . . ten to fifteen miles per hours because anxiety in driving elicited this in her and she would have to stop frequently to allow the anxiety to dissipate . . . .” On the basis of this history, Dr. Ascher diagnosed that Mrs. Kravinsky suffered from driving phobia. He defined a phobic reaction as “a set of anatomic responses and a set of anxieties, made to a stimulus which is [16]*16not a clear danger.” Specifically, he found that Mrs. Kravinsky “had an anxiety response when she thought about driving, when she looked at the car. Even when she sat in the car as a passenger she had an anxiety response. . a phobic response.”

Based upon the above history and his observation of Mrs. Kravinsky, Dr. Ascher formed the following opinion as to the cause of her driving phobia:

“A. I felt that a significant cause was the accident of May [22], 1970.”

On cross-examination, Dr. Ascher amplified:

“Q. If there were such a mishap between May 22, 1970, and the time you saw Mrs. Kravinsky, in your expert opinion do you think that would have some bearing on her anxieties?
“A. It was my opinion that her behavioral difficulty obviously began on May 22, as a result of that accident.
“Q. Didn’t you just say that she had anxieties about driving from the prior accident?
“A. Yes, but she was driving.
“A. (Continuing) She was driving in an efficient manner before that time.
“Q. You did say, in response to counsel’s question, what affect did the accident of May 22 have on Mrs. Kravinsky, your answer was, and I quoted you on that, ‘It was a significant cause.’ Not the cause, but a significant cause.
“What does that mean?
“A.. That means that there are many factors that influence any particular — any behavior in any particular human being. So it would go beyond my abilities to say what the exact cause of a specific problem was.
“Q. In other words, what you are saying is what causes her fear of driving you don’t know?
“A. No, I didn’t say that.
[17]*17“A. What I am saying is that I can tell you the things that contributed to Mrs. Kravinsky’s problem. It was obvious to me that there was not one overriding factor, but that there were other related problems.
“Q. What were those related problems?
“A. Well, the difficulty she had on March—
MR. ELASH: 1970.
“A. (Continuing) 1970.
“Q. That is one?
“A. That is one.
“Q. Were there others?
“A. I couldn’t see any others, no.”

Mr. and Mrs. Kravinsky then testified about the collision, their injuries, and the treatment they received.

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Bluebook (online)
396 A.2d 1349, 263 Pa. Super. 8, 1979 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1779, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kravinsky-v-glover-pasuperct-1979.