Miller v. Choo Choo Partners, L.P.

73 S.W.3d 897, 2001 Tenn. App. LEXIS 821
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedNovember 5, 2001
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 73 S.W.3d 897 (Miller v. Choo Choo Partners, L.P.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller v. Choo Choo Partners, L.P., 73 S.W.3d 897, 2001 Tenn. App. LEXIS 821 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinions

OPINION

CHARLES D. SUSANO, JR., J,

delivered the opinion of the court,

in which HOUSTON M. GODDARD, P.J., joined.

Donald Miller and his wife, Terry Miller, filed suit seeking damages associated with [900]*900injuries that Mr. Miller1 allegedly sustained when he fell while getting into a bathtub enclosure at a hotel owned by the defendant Choo Choo Partners, L.P. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiffs. As remitted by the trial court, Miller was awarded $1,000,000 and his wife was awarded consortium damages of $175,000. The defendant appeals, arguing, inter alia, that it was entitled to a directed verdict because the plaintiffs failed to establish that the defendant’s negligence caused Miller’s back and neck injuries. We affirm.

I.

The plaintiffs reside in Peoria, Illinois. At the time of the subject incident, Miller was employed by Komatsu Mining Equipment as an area service manager. On April 1, 1996, he traveled to Chattanooga for the purpose of demonstrating some of his company’s large mining trucks to a pool of potential customers. He checked into the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, a hotel owned by the defendant. On the morning of April 2, 1996, as Miller was stepping into the bathtub to take a shower, he grabbed a bar located on the opposite wall inside the bathtub. The bar pulled away from the wall, causing him to fall backwards. As a result of his fall, his right hip struck the edge of the bathtub.

Upon his return to Peoria on April" 11, 1996, Miller went to see his family physician, Dr. Richard Schock. He complained of low back pain. He told Dr. Schock, of his fall in the hotel bathroom. Dr. Schock examined him and found that he was tender in the lumbar area. He prescribed pain medication, muscle relaxants, and anti-inflammatory drugs. When Miller did not improve, Dr. Schock ordered an MRI scan. The scan showed a disc herniation in the lumbar region of Miller’s back. Dr. Schock referred Miller to Dr. Richard Lister, a neurosurgeon who had previously performed surgery on Miller in 1991 to correct another disc herniation in his back. The same doctor had also operated on Miller’s neck in 1992. Dr. Lister initially recommended physical therapy and steroid injections. When Miller’s condition did not improve, Dr. Lister recommended surgery. On May 16, 1996, Dr. Lister performed surgery to correct the disc herniation in Miller’s low back. He indicated at trial that the herniation was in the same location as the herniation that had been the subject of the 1991 surgery.

Miller returned to work on July 24, 1996. He continued to experience back pain, however, and in September, 1996, he returned to Dr. Schock. Another MRI scan of his back was conducted, but nothing unusual was found. Dr. Schock prescribed physical therapy.

Miller testified that he also experienced neck pain after his fall. He testified that he did not mention this pain to either Dr. Schock or Dr. Lister, initially believing it was simply a symptom of fatigue. In January, 1997, he went to Dr. Schock for treatment of his neck. Dr. Schock recommended an MRI scan of his neck. The MRI revealed evidence of a disc herniation at the same location as the herniation that was the subject of the earlier neck surgery. Miller was again referred to Dr. Lister, who performed surgery to correct the herniation on March 18, 1997. Miller did not return to work after the neck surgery. He testified that his ability to perform the duties of his job was “extremely hampered” after the surgeries on his back and neck.

II.

As previously indicated, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs. [901]*901The trial court remitted Miller’s award to $1,000,000 and that of Mrs. Miller to $175,000. The defendant appeals, raising the following issues:

1. Did the trial court err in refusing to grant the defendant’s motion for directed verdict, which motion was based upon the alleged failure of the evidence to establish the requisite causation nexus between Miller’s fall and his neck and back injuries?
2. Did the trial court err in admitting expert testimony over the defendant’s objection?
8. Did the trial court err in admitting evidence of Miller’s medical expenses over the defendant’s objection?
4. Is the jury’s verdict excessive as being contrary to the law and the properly-admitted evidence?
5. Did the trial court err in refusing to give the defendant’s special requests for jury instructions?

The plaintiffs’ brief responds to the defendant’s issues. As a separate issue, the plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred in remitting Miller’s award from $1,500,000 to $1,000,000 and Mrs. Miller’s verdict from $250,000 to $175,000.

III.

A.

The defendant contends that it was entitled to a directed verdict because, according to the defendant, the plaintiffs did not prove the defendant’s negligence caused the injuries to Miller’s back and neck.

B.

Our standard of review of a trial court’s decision on a motion for directed verdict is well-settled. A directed verdict is appropriate only when the evidence is susceptible to but one conclusion. Eaton v. McLain, 891 S.W.2d 587, 590 (Tenn.1994); Long v. Mattingly, 797 S.W.2d 889, 892 (Tenn.Ct.App.1990). In deciding whether this is the situation in a given case, we must “take the strongest legitimate view of the evidence favoring the opponent of the motion.” Long, 797 S.W.2d at 892. In addition, all reasonable inferences in favor of the opponent of the motion must be allowed, and all evidence contrary to the opponent’s position must be disregarded. Eaton, 891 S.W.2d at 590; Long, 797 S.W.2d at 892.

As a general rule, the causation of a medical condition must be established by testimony from a medical expert. Thomas v. Aetna Life & Cas. Co., 812 S.W.2d 278, 283 (Tenn.1991). Such testimony is not sufficient to establish causation if it is speculative in nature. Primm v. Wickes Lumber Co., 845 S.W.2d 768, 771 (Tenn.Ct.App.1992). Quoting extensively from Professor Prosser and other authorities, the Supreme Court has opined as follows:

“The plaintiff must introduce evidence which affords a reasonable basis for the conclusion that it is more likely than not that the conduct of the defendant was a cause in fact of the result. A mere possibility of such causation is not enough; and when the matter remains one of pure speculation or conjecture or the probabilities are at best evenly balanced, it becomes the duty of the court to direct a verdict for the defendant ... The plaintiff is not, however, required to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The pldintiff need not negative entirely the possibility that the defendant’s conduct was not a cause and it is enough to introduce evidence from which reasonable persons may conclude that it is more probable that the event was caused by the defendant than that it was not ...” Prosser [and Keaton, Torts, § 41, p. 269 (5th ed.1984)].

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Jacqueline Adams v. Finis Fields
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2026
CATHERINE AMANDA MULLIS v. SAI CHATTANOOGA N, LLC
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2025
Jacqueline Payne v. Shelby County, Tennessee
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2025
King v. Chase
W.D. Tennessee, 2022
Khalid Almuawi v. Antwan Gregory
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2021
Helen M. Bell v. D. Breck Roberts, II
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2020
Avery v. Yinam
W.D. Tennessee, 2019
State of Iowa v. Joe Anthony Lopez
Court of Appeals of Iowa, 2018
Adams v. Farbota
306 F.R.D. 563 (M.D. Tennessee, 2015)
Brooks Monypeny v. Chamroeun Kheiv
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2015
Leon Dickson, Sr. v. Sidney H. Kriger, M.D.
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2014
McClain v. United States
996 F. Supp. 2d 683 (M.D. Tennessee, 2014)
Norman Hill v. Danny Tapia, Jr.
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2012
Robert Bumgardner v. United States
469 F. App'x 414 (Sixth Circuit, 2012)
Rheaetta F. Wilson v. Americare Systems, Inc.
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2012

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
73 S.W.3d 897, 2001 Tenn. App. LEXIS 821, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-choo-choo-partners-lp-tennctapp-2001.