Martinez v. Delgado-Galban

439 P.3d 526, 296 Or. App. 659
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedMarch 20, 2019
DocketA163733
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 439 P.3d 526 (Martinez v. Delgado-Galban) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Martinez v. Delgado-Galban, 439 P.3d 526, 296 Or. App. 659 (Or. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

TOOKEY, J.

*660Plaintiff sustained injuries during an altercation with defendant. In this personal injury action, he seeks recovery from defendant for, among other harm, his medical expenses. After the close of plaintiff's case, defendant moved to strike plaintiff's claim for damages for medical expenses, contending that those expenses could not be recovered because plaintiff had failed to produce any evidence that the amount that plaintiff was charged for the medical treatment that plaintiff had received was reasonable. The trial court denied defendant's motion to strike. The jury found in favor of plaintiff, awarding plaintiff economic and noneconomic damages. Defendant appeals from a general judgment, assigning error to, among other rulings, the trial court's denial of his motion to strike.

*528For the reasons that follow, we reverse and remand.1

The material facts are not in dispute. Plaintiff and defendant were in an altercation during which plaintiff was cut by a knife wielded by defendant. Plaintiff sought and received medical treatment for his injuries. The medical treatment included three separate visits to the Tuality Community Hospital emergency room.

Plaintiff sued defendant for battery and assault, seeking, among other types of damages, economic damages for his medical expenses. During the resulting trial, plaintiff presented evidence of the amount that he was charged by Tuality Community Hospital for the medical treatment that he had received, submitting into evidence copies of the bills that he had received from Tuality Community Hospital. Additionally, plaintiff presented testimony from an expert witness, Dr. Paul Puziss, who testified that the treatment plaintiff received was reasonable:

"Q: And the treatment that you understand he had received at that point, do you believe that that was reasonable, under the circumstances?
"A: Yes. He went to the emergency room, they sutured [his wound ] properly. They didn't see a nerve injury, but *661clearly he had one. He returned there a couple more times, in part complaining of pain, in part for wound check. There never was, fortunately, a post-injury infection. But he had appropriate treatment.
"* * * * *
"Q: So you already testified that his-you understood his-his medical treatment to be reasonable?
"A: It was."

After the close of plaintiff's case, defendant moved to strike plaintiff's claim for damages for medical expenses because, according to defendant, plaintiff had failed to produce any evidence that the medical expenses incurred by plaintiff were reasonable. The trial court initially granted the motion. Subsequently, however, the trial court reversed its ruling, concluding that the evidence was sufficient for the jury to determine whether plaintiff's medical expenses were reasonable because "there [was] reasonable treatment that was rendered" and there were "not complex medical expenses" at issue in this case.

After the parties' closing arguments, the jury was instructed per UCJI 70.04 that, "[i]f you find that the plaintiff is entitled to recover economic damages, you must award some noneconomic damages." The jury ultimately returned a verdict for plaintiff, awarding both economic damages and noneconomic damages.

On appeal, defendant argues, among other points, that the trial court erred when it denied his motion to strike, because a party seeking to recover damages for medical expenses must present some evidence, beyond medical bills themselves, that such expenses are reasonable.2 Defendant contends that plaintiff failed to produce such evidence. Plaintiff does not disagree that to recover the amount that he was charged for medical care he was required to offer evidence that the charges were reasonable, and acknowledges *662that the submission of a medical bill, without more, is insufficient proof that the amount that he was charged was reasonable. Plaintiff contends, however, that the trial court did not err in denying defendant's motion to strike plaintiff's claim for damages for medical expenses because Puziss's testimony constituted "additional evidence" that the medical expenses plaintiff sought to recover were reasonable. Plaintiff also contends that certain statements made by defendant during defendant's closing argument constitute "judicial admissions" by defendant that the medical expenses incurred by plaintiff were reasonable.

Given the parties' arguments on appeal in this case, in reviewing the trial court's denial of defendant's motion to strike, we *529"view the evidence and reasonable inferences from it in the light most favorable to plaintiff, the nonmoving party, and affirm the denial if there is any evidence to support it." Lea v. Farmers Ins. Co. , 194 Or. App. 557, 559, 96 P.3d 359 (2004).

In Tuohy v. Columbia Steel Co. , 61 Or. 527, 532, 122 P. 36 (1912), the Supreme Court stated that "[t]he rule is that plaintiff in a case involving personal injuries can recover, as a part of his damages, his reasonable expenses for medicines and medical treatment, but there must be some evidence that the charges are reasonable." Since Tuohy , Oregon courts have consistently required plaintiffs seeking damages for medical expenses to establish the reasonableness of those expenses to recover them. See, e.g. , White v. Jubitz Corp. , 219 Or. App. 62, 68, 182 P.3d 215 (2008), aff'd , 347 Or. 212, 219 P.3d 566 (2009) (noting that "Oregon courts have long held that a plaintiff seeking damages for medical expenses must establish the reasonableness of those expenses and cannot simply rely on a medical bill for that purpose"); Ellington v. Garrow , 213 Or. App. 490, 496,

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Related

State v. Hilburn
455 P.3d 995 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2019)

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Bluebook (online)
439 P.3d 526, 296 Or. App. 659, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martinez-v-delgado-galban-orctapp-2019.