Lockwood v. Schreimann

933 S.W.2d 856, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 1593, 1996 WL 536829
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 24, 1996
DocketNo. WD 51865
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 933 S.W.2d 856 (Lockwood v. Schreimann) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lockwood v. Schreimann, 933 S.W.2d 856, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 1593, 1996 WL 536829 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

SPINDEN, Judge.

Dennis Lockwood sued Robert S. Wilson for injuries he suffered when the pickup he was driving collided with a car driven by Wilson in Jefferson City. A jury awarded Lockwood $95,465.84 for his injuries, and Wilson1 appeals.

Wilson charges the circuit court with five points of error: (1) refusing to give an excessive speed instruction to the jury, (2) prohibiting him from cross-examining Lockwood about his claim for worker’s compensation for an injury that occurred after the automobile accident, (3) denying his motion to amend the judgment reflecting a credit against the [858]*858judgment for the amount of the worker’s compensation settlement Lockwood received, (4) prohibiting him from cross-examining Lockwood’s economist as to whether the economist’s calculations of Lockwood’s past and future earnings loss took into account state and federal taxes, and (5) giving a modified damage instruction to the jury instead of MAX4.01. We affirm.

Facts

On June 18, 1990, at about 8:00 A.M., Lockwood was driving his pickup east on Southwest Boulevard in the right-hand through traffic lane2 as it approached the intersection with Jefferson Street. A tractor-trailer rig had stopped in the left-hand through traffic lane. The traffic light was green for Southwest Boulevard traffic when Lockwood’s pickup entered the intersection. Lockwood drove into the intersection at approximately 20 to 30 miles an hour.3 Wilson’s car, traveling west on Southwest Boulevard, turned left into the path of Lockwood’s pickup, and Lockwood’s pickup crashed into the side of Wilson’s car on the passenger side. An investigating police officer cited Wilson with failing to yield the right-of-way. Wilson pleaded guilty to the charge.

Excessive Speed Instruction

In his first point on appeal, Wilson asserts that the circuit court erred in not giving this excessive speed instruction:

In your verdict you must assess a percentage of fault to plaintiff, whether or not defendant was partly at fault, if you believe:
First, plaintiff drove at an excessive speed, and
Second, plaintiff was thereby negligent, and
Third, such negligence of plaintiff directly caused or directly contributed to cause any damage plaintiff may have sustained.

Wilson claims that substantial evidence existed from which a jury could conclude that Lockwood drove at an excessive speed under the circumstances. We disagree.

The instruction would have been proper only had the record indicated that Lockwood was driving at a speed which, under the circumstances, prevented him from avoiding a collision. Knox v. Simmons, 838 S.W.2d 21, 24 (Mo.App.1992). The evidence had to support a finding that Lockwood was driving at an excessive speed and that his vehicle’s speed was a direct, contributing cause. Braniecki v. Mound City Yellow Cab Company, Inc., 861 S.W.2d 683, 685 (Mo.App.1993). Although the evidence indicated that Lockwood was driving within the posted speed limit, a jury could still have found him negligent if it determined that he drove at a speed which endangered persons and property under the existing conditions. Schneider v. Finley, 653 S.W.2d 727, 731 (Mo.App.1977). Lockwood was not entitled to rely solely on a favorable traffic signal; “the duty of care to be exercised remains commensurate with the circumstances, one of which is the green light.” Braniecki, 861 S.W.2d at 685. Because left turns were permitted on a green light at the intersection, the possibility of an oncoming vehicle making a left turn was a circumstance to be considered. Id. Whether a particular speed is excessive depends on the conditions of the highway and surrounding circumstances. Schneider, 553 S.W.2d at 731. “Particular conditions and circumstances relevant to determining whether speed is excessive include the amount of traffic and road and weather conditions.” Braniecki, 861 S.W.2d at 685. “Thus, a speed within the posted speed limit may be excessive when maintained on an arterial road, during rush hour, on wet streets, during rain showers at night.” Id.

Wilson contends that the evidence established that Lockwood was very familiar with the intersection and knew that many vehicles [859]*859traversed it at that time of day.4 Lockwood admitted that he drove into the intersection at 20 to 30 miles an hour although a tractor-trailer rig stopped in the other through lane obscured his vision of traffic. Lockwood testified:

Q. And because that tractor-trailer was in the left lane, it obstructed your vision as to the intersection which would be coming from Jefferson Street.
A. Yes, it did.
Q. And you knew that before you came into the intersection, did you not?
A. That my vision was obstructed?
Q. Yes, sir.
A. Yes, I did know that.
Q. Okay. And when you observed that your vision was obstructed and you couldn’t see what was coming, say, going south on Jefferson Street, did you slow down any?
A. I’m sure I did.
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Q. [A]s you came in this intersection and this truck was in the left-hand lane which blocked your vision, you continued to travel at 20 to 30 miles an hour; isn’t that correct?
A. Yes.

Wilson argues that this was substantial evidence supporting the excessive speed instruction. He contends that Lockwood had a duty to approach the intersection at a sufficiently reduced speed so that he could control his vehicle and avoid hitting a vehicle in the intersection. Wilson did not establish, however, that the speed at which Lockwood was driving was a direct, contributing cause of the collision. Roper v. Archibald, 680 S.W.2d 743, 748 (Mo.App.1984).

“Excessive speed is not the proximate cause of a motor vehicle collision unless it prevents the operator of the vehicle traveling at the excessive speed from avoiding the accident; hence it must be shown that the collision would not have occurred except for the excessive speed shown by the evidence.” Id. The causal connection between excessive speed and the collision must be established by the evidence and cannot be left to mere speculation and conjecture. Id. “This rule, however, does not require that there must be direct proof of the fact itself; it is sufficient if the facts proved are of such a nature and are so connected and related to each other, that the conclusion therefrom may be fairly inferred.” Id.

Wilson contends that the evidence established that Lockwood’s excessive speed caused or contributed to cause this accident. He argues:

This court can take judicial notice of the fact that a vehicle travels approximately 1.5 feet per second for every mile per hour that the vehicle is traveling.

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Bluebook (online)
933 S.W.2d 856, 1996 Mo. App. LEXIS 1593, 1996 WL 536829, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lockwood-v-schreimann-moctapp-1996.