Neloms v. Empire Fire & Marine Ins. Co.

859 So. 2d 225, 2003 WL 22351455
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 16, 2003
Docket37,786-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 859 So. 2d 225 (Neloms v. Empire Fire & Marine Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Neloms v. Empire Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 859 So. 2d 225, 2003 WL 22351455 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

859 So.2d 225 (2003)

Exvina NELOMS, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
EMPIRE FIRE & MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY, North Caddo Hospital Service District and Kristie G. McMullan, Defendants-Appellants.

No. 37,786-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

October 16, 2003.

*227 Mayer, Smith & Roberts, L.L.P. by David F. Butterfield, Shreveport, for Appellants.

Norman R. Gordon & Assoc., L.L.C. by W. Brett Cain, Shreveport, for Appellee, Exvina Neloms.

Hubley, Marcotte & Rhodes by Craig O. Marcotte, Shreveport, for Appellee, Louisiana Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. and Exvina Neloms.

Before WILLIAMS, CARAWAY & PEATROSS, JJ.

PEATROSS, J.

This appeal arises from a trial court judgment in favor of Plaintiff, Exvina Neloms ("Neloms"), and against Defendants, Empire Fire and Marine Insurance Company ("Empire Fire"), North Caddo Hospital Service District ("North Caddo") and Kristie G. McMullan[1] ("McMullan") (collectively "Defendants"). Defendants now appeal the judgment of the trial court. For the reasons stated herein, we affirm.

FACTS

On May 13, 1999, Neloms' vehicle collided with an ambulance driven by McMullan at the intersection of Hearne Avenue and Greenwood Road in Shreveport, Louisiana.[2] At the time of the accident, Neloms was heading west on Greenwood Road through a traffic light that was green in her favor. At the same time Neloms was driving into the intersection, McMullan was also driving her ambulance into the intersection against a red light, heading south on Hearne Avenue. McMullan was transporting a patient, a doctor, a paramedic and a passenger on an emergency run from Vivian, Louisiana, to LSU Medical Center in Shreveport. McMullan did not stop her ambulance before entering the intersection.

As the ambulance entered the intersection, it struck the passenger side of Neloms' vehicle. The momentum of the vehicles and the force of the collision carried both vehicles onto the center island on the west side of Greenwood Road. Both Neloms and McMullan were injured and transported from the scene by ambulance for emergency treatment. McMullan injured her ankle and hit her head in the accident. Medical records reflect that Neloms was packaged in a "full spine" brace prior to transport.

Neloms was taken to LSU Medical Center with complaints of neck, hip and back pain. A doctor examined her and then released her. The next day Neloms began treatment with a chiropractor, Randall Lord ("Lord"). Medical records show that Lord diagnosed Neloms with lumbar and cervical strain/sprain with accompanying soft tissue damage, muscle spasm, edema and spinal joint dysfunction. Neloms saw Lord intermittently through July 19, 1999, at which time she was released at maximum medical improvement. Her bill for chiropractic treatment was $2,436 and she incurred $20.77 in records fees. She missed four days of work due to her injury; at five hours per day at $5.15 per hour she lost $103 in wages.

*228 Neloms filed suit against North Caddo, its insurer, Empire Fire, and McMullan for property damage and personal injuries arising from the accident. North Caddo and Empire Fire filed a reconventional demand against Neloms and her liability insurer, Louisiana Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company ("Farm Bureau"), seeking payment for damage to the North Caddo vehicle. Farm Bureau filed a cross-claim against McMullan, Empire Fire and North Caddo for the $2,930.72 in medical payments it had paid Neloms under that portion of her auto policy. The parties tried the matter on the merits on August 22, 2002.

At trial, Neloms testified that she did not see any car on Hearne Avenue run the red light before she got to the intersection. She said that she was going approximately 20-25 miles per hour and that she did not hear a siren or see emergency lights prior to entering the intersection. Neloms testified that she did not recall any vehicles stopped at the green light on her side of the intersection when she was heading west through the intersection.

McMullen testified that she had the lights and "very loud" siren operating on the ambulance—"running hot"—because the patient being transported was in critical condition. She stated that, as she approached the intersection, there were several cars in the left and right lanes of travel and one car in the left turn lane. The cars were stopped because the traffic light was red. Protocol required that she pass other vehicles on the left, insofar as possible, so she drove the ambulance into the turn lane. McMullan said that she changed the tone of the siren on the ambulance to alert the stopped drivers of her presence. She testified that, when she did this, the driver who was stopped in the left turn lane in front of her went through the red light to get out of her way. McMullan also stated that the east and westbound traffic on Greenwood Road was stopped as well. She testified that she was "creeping" through the intersection at 3-5 miles per hour. As the ambulance entered the intersection, it struck the passenger side of Neloms' vehicle.

The deposition of the responding officer, Shreveport Police Officer Glen Vincent, was introduced into evidence in lieu of his testimony. Officer Vincent said that the intersection was well lit. He did not write either driver a ticket, but he said that McMullan told him that she was stopped when the collision occurred and that Neloms' vehicle hit her ambulance. McMullan testified that she did not remember telling the officer that she was stopped. It was Officer Vincent's opinion that the ambulance driver failed to yield, noting that the ambulance suffered heavy damage to its front end and Neloms' vehicle suffered heavy damage to the passenger side. None of the other passengers in the ambulance testified at trial.

Neloms testified that she had not driven her car since the accident. Instead, her husband, who is disabled and does not work, drove her to work and to the doctor in his car. She did not testify that she had to rent a car; indeed, she testified that she has been too scared or nervous to drive after the accident because "it just seemed that everybody was going to run over me." Her husband confirmed this, saying that, since the accident, she was very "sensitive" when riding as a passenger with him.

Neloms did not testify as to the damage to the car, but several photos of the car taken after the accident were introduced into evidence. Three of the photos were taken in the daytime and clearly show the extent of the damage to the car. Both passenger side doors and the rear of the right front fender are badly crushed; except for a rear quarter window, no glass is *229 visible in either of the side windows and the windshield is shattered on the right side. Three other photos of both vehicles taken at the scene of the accident are included in the record and the extensive damage to the passenger side of the car is visible in two of the photos. Over the objection of Defendants, the trial judge allowed into evidence on behalf of Neloms a copy of a "Kelley Blue Book Suggested Retail Report," gathered from the internet website www.carpoint.msn.com, stating that the retail value of Neloms' vehicle, a 1982 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale four-door sedan, in excellent condition with 99,000 miles and a V-6 engine, was $1,000. The repair estimate for the ambulance of $10,808.30 was introduced into evidence.

The trial judge took the matter under advisement and rendered verbal reasons for judgment, finding that McMullan was entirely at fault for the accident.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
859 So. 2d 225, 2003 WL 22351455, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/neloms-v-empire-fire-marine-ins-co-lactapp-2003.