McCubbins v. STATE, DNR

984 P.2d 501
CourtAlaska Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 5, 1999
DocketS-7930, S-7990
StatusPublished

This text of 984 P.2d 501 (McCubbins v. STATE, DNR) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Alaska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McCubbins v. STATE, DNR, 984 P.2d 501 (Ala. 1999).

Opinion

984 P.2d 501 (1999)

Ray McCUBBINS and Rona McCubbins, Appellants and Cross-Appellees,
v.
STATE of Alaska, DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, DIVISION OF PARKS AND RECREATION, Appellee and Cross-Appellant.

Nos. S-7930, S-7990.

Supreme Court of Alaska.

March 5, 1999.
Rehearing Denied September 8, 1999.

*502 George M. Kapolchok, Elizabeth D. Friedman, Anchorage, for Appellants and Cross-Appellees.

Michael C. Geraghty, Tracey L. Knutson, and Sarah Diemer Moyer, DeLisio, Moran, Geraghty & Zobel, Anchorage, for Appellee and Cross-Appellant.

Before MATTHEWS, Chief Justice, and COMPTON, EASTAUGH, FABE, and BRYNER, Justices.

OPINION

MATTHEWS, Chief Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

Ray Woodrow McCubbins and his wife, Rona McCubbins, appeal from a jury verdict awarding McCubbins $26,914.10 against the State of Alaska for injuries sustained in a diving accident at Big Lake. They appeal the trial court's failure to grant them a new trial on the issue of damages; its determination that the State was the prevailing party for purposes of Civil Rule 82 attorney's fees; and its award of decreased prejudgment interest pursuant to Civil Rule 68. We hold that the jury's damage award was inconsistent and order a new trial on the issue of damages.

II. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

A. Facts

On May 31, 1993, Ray "Woody" McCubbins, his wife, Rona,[1] and several friends went jet skiing at the Big Lake North Recreation Site (Big Lake site) near Wasilla. The Big Lake site is owned by the State of Alaska and managed by the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. A floating orange boomline separates a swimming area from boat traffic on the rest of the lake. During a break from jet skiing, McCubbins ran into the lake at the swimming area and performed a belly-flop. At this point in the lake, the water was approximately two to three feet deep. McCubbins struck his head on what was likely a large submerged rock.

McCubbins's friends drove him to the AIC Medical Clinic in Wasilla where he was treated by Ed Manning, a physician's assistant. Manning stitched together McCubbins's head laceration and took X-rays of McCubbins's neck, which indicated a "teardrop fracture." *503 Manning referred McCubbins to Valley Hospital in Palmer. That same day, Valley Hospital reviewed McCubbins's X-rays, ordered a CT scan and notified McCubbins's Anchorage family physician, Dr. Robert Hall.

McCubbins returned to his job as a truck driver with Weaver Brothers in Anchorage. Three days later McCubbins saw Dr. Hall, who sent him to the Providence Hospital Emergency Room for new X-rays of his neck. Approximately two weeks later, McCubbins referred himself to Dr. Lynn Taylor, a neurologist at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. Dr. Taylor concluded that McCubbins had a small compression fracture in a neck bone, but was not a surgical candidate. On Dr. Taylor's advice, McCubbins sought physical therapy at Chugach Physical Therapy in Anchorage. McCubbins testified that the physical therapy increased his pain due to exercises designed to eventually expand the range of motion in his neck.

Dr. Hall reexamined McCubbins in August and released him for work. McCubbins resumed truck driving that month. However, McCubbins began to experience a numbing and tingling sensation in his limbs. He returned to Dr. Hall, who conducted another MRI at Providence Hospital. McCubbins then sought treatment from Dr. Lee Dorey in Tacoma in September 1993. Dr. Dorey recommended that McCubbins undergo a two-level anterior cervical fusion to fuse his fractured neck vertebrae. McCubbins did not obtain a second opinion. McCubbins underwent the fusion surgery and returned to Anchorage in October 1993 for physical therapy but did not return to work. The surgery alleviated the numbness and tingling, but McCubbins's neck pain increased. In November McCubbins returned to Weaver Brothers as a full-time office employee. In the spring of 1994, McCubbins again saw Dr. Dorey because he began suffering from neck pain in a different area. Dr. Dorey conducted a discogram, injecting fluid into McCubbins's spine and taking an X-ray. Dr. Dorey did not recommend additional surgery; instead he referred McCubbins to a pain clinic in Anchorage employing Dr. Robert Swift. Dr. Swift prescribed narcotic medication for McCubbins's pain.

B. Proceedings

McCubbins and Rona filed a complaint against the State of Alaska on October 26, 1993, alleging that the State was negligent in failing to inspect the Big Lake site for dangerous conditions; warn of subsurface rocks or other dangerous conditions; and remove the submerged rock that McCubbins struck. McCubbins and Rona requested damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, physical impairment, emotional distress, lost income and loss of consortium. The State answered on December 16, 1993, asserting, inter alia, that McCubbins's injuries were caused by his own negligence and that he had failed to mitigate his damages.

Trial was held from January 23 to February 3, 1995. On the issue of damages, McCubbins presented his own testimony, Rona's testimony and the testimony of Dr. Dorey, Dr. Swift, coworker Patrick Smith, employer James Doyle, vocational rehabilitation counselor Jill Friedman, and economist Francis Gallela. The State presented the testimony of physician's assistant Ed Manning, Dr. Taylor, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Douglas Smith, psychologist Dr. Michael Rose, and vocational rehabilitation counselor Richard Stone. On February 3 the jury found the State negligent for failing to maintain the Big Lake site in a reasonably safe condition. The jury also found McCubbins comparatively negligent and attributed 50% fault to him and 50% to the State. By special verdict, it awarded McCubbins $28,800 for future medical expenses, $3,200 for past pain and suffering, and $18,000 for future pain and suffering. The jury awarded no damages for past medical expenses, past earnings, future earning capacity, past physical impairment, future physical impairment, and loss of consortium.

Before the jury was discharged, McCubbins objected to the special verdict, arguing that it was inconsistent and should be resubmitted. The trial court discharged the jury, ruling that the issue could be addressed in post-trial motions. McCubbins then moved for a new trial on the issue of damages. The *504 court denied McCubbins's motion, noting that the verdict was consistent with the evidence adduced at trial, except for the jury's failure to award damages for immediate post-accident expenses, for which the court later ordered additur. McCubbins moved for entry of final judgment and a new trial, this time alleging improper argument by the State. The trial court held oral argument on the motion for a new trial, but did not issue a second ruling.

The trial court issued a final judgment for McCubbins in the amount of $26,914.10, assessed prejudgment interest against the State at 5.5% pursuant to Civil Rule 68 and determined that the State was the prevailing party. The trial court ordered additur of $3,828.20 for "emergency medical care, physical therapy and evaluation" immediately following McCubbins's accident. McCubbins filed a motion for reconsideration on August 1, 1996, claiming that the State's offer of judgment was invalid and that the trial court should have found McCubbins to be the prevailing party. The trial court denied this motion and awarded the State attorney's fees of $17,348.70.

III. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

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