Ricca v. Jackson

46 Pa. D. & C.4th 211, 2000 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 282
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Bucks County
DecidedMay 5, 2000
Docketno. 96-05145-17-2
StatusPublished

This text of 46 Pa. D. & C.4th 211 (Ricca v. Jackson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Bucks County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ricca v. Jackson, 46 Pa. D. & C.4th 211, 2000 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 282 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2000).

Opinion

SCOTT, J.,

The matter presently before the court involves a claim by Marco Ricca against Margaret Jackson for damages arising out of an automobile accident. Plaintiff alleged that defendant, while driving her car, failed to yield the right of way and caused a collision. On October 27,1999, after a two-day trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of defendant on the issue of causation. Plaintiff filed timely post-trial motions asking for judgment n.o.v. or, in the alternative, a new trial. We offer this opinion in support of our decision to grant a new trial on the issue of damages only.

The automobile accident at issue occurred on December 10, 1994. The record discloses that on that date, the defendant exited the parking lot of a restaurant into the lane of traffic in which plaintiff was traveling. Plaintiff blew his horn and hit his brakes, but he was unable to stop before colliding with defendant’s car. Plaintiff was going 45 miles per hour when defendant pulled out in [213]*213front of him, and the collision totaled plaintiff’s car, a 1983 Buick Regal.

Plaintiff alleged he was dazed and injured his knee. He refused, however, to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance, because he was concerned about his dog, which had been riding in the car with him at the time of the accident. Subsequently, a bystander drove plaintiff to his house so he could drop off his dog and then took plaintiff to Frankford Hospital. At the hospital, plaintiff was examined by the hospital personnel and released. They told him that he should see his family physician, Dr. Julius Mingroni, about further treatment of his injuries.

Plaintiff saw Dr. Mingroni on December 13, three days after the accident. In this first visit, plaintiff complained of injuries to his cervical spine (neck), his right knee, and his lumbosacral spine (lower back). The doctor described the symptoms as complaints of severe neck pain with limitation of motion and spasms, as well as lower back pain with spasms. The knee injury subsequently healed, but plaintiff continued to complain of daily pain between his shoulder blades and the occasional slight loss of sensation and strength in his right hand. Plaintiff stated that at times, this daily pain in his back would increase severely. Plaintiff had never mentioned any neck or back problems prior to the accident to Dr. Mingroni. The doctor initially prescribed Flexeril (a muscle relaxant), Naprosyn (an anti-inflammatory) and physical therapy to try to alleviate the back pain. Plaintiff started going to therapy three times a week in December of 1994 and continued the therapy for six months.

The therapy failed to provide any lasting relief to plaintiff. Dr. Mingroni then asked to have an MRI done on plaintiff’s spine because of plaintiff’s continued com[214]*214plaints of pain in his neck and back. Also, plaintiff was referred to Dr. Resnick, a neurologist, and Dr. Salkind, a neurosurgeon. He also treated with a chiropractor. Plaintiff testified, however, that the chiropractor treatments failed to give him any long-term relief. After reviewing the MRIs and consulting with Dr. Resnick and Dr. Salkind, Dr. Mingroni diagnosed plaintiff as having a herniated disc at the level of C5-C6 (neck) and a bulging disc at the level of L5-S1 (lower back).

The two neurosurgeons plaintiff consulted with, Dr. Salkind and Dr. O’Connor, both recommended surgery as a possible means to alleviate plaintiff’s problem. Plaintiff, however, had concerns regarding the success rate of the operation, the administration of general anesthesia, and the actual procedure itself. After weighing the possible good outcomes from the surgery with the possible bad outcomes, plaintiff decided to forego this option for the time being.

On July 10, 1996, plaintiff filed this suit against defendant Jackson in Bucks County, alleging negligence. The case went to trial on October 26, 1999. During the trial, defendant stipulated that she was negligent in driving her car and that this negligence caused the accident. Trial transcript, pp. 140-41. On October 27, 1999, the jury returned a verdict in favor of defendant, finding that defendant’s negligence was not “a substantial factor in bringing about the plaintiff’s harm.” This post-trial motion followed.

In his motion for post-trial relief, plaintiff requests the court to grant a new trial and judgment n.o.v. We will discuss each of these issues in turn below.

[215]*2151. NEW TRIAL

A new trial should be awarded “when the jury’s verdict is so contrary to the evidence that it shocks one’s sense of justice.” Martin v. Evans, 551 Pa. 496, 501, 711 A.2d 458, 461 (1998). The trial court has the discretion to decide whether or not to grant a request for a new trial. Id. Under the law of this Commonwealth, a jury hearing a personal injury case cannot disregard the un-controverted testimony from both parties’ experts that the plaintiff was injured as a result of the accident in question. Mano v. Madden, 738 A.2d 493, 497 (Pa. Super. 1999); see Neison v. Hines, 539 Pa. 516, 653 A.2d 634 (1995); Todd v. Bercini, 371 Pa. 605, 92 A.2d 538 (1952); Burnhauser v. Bumberger, 745 A.2d 1256 (Pa. Super. 2000); Lewis v. Evans, 456 Pa. Super. 285, 690 A.2d 291 (1997); Rozanc v. Urbany, 444 Pa. Super. 645, 664 A.2d 619 (1995); Hawley v. Donahoo, 416 Pa. Super. 469, 611 A.2d 311 (1992).

The facts in Burnhauser v. Bumberger are similar to those in the instant case. In Burnhauser, the plaintiff was driving along Route 209 in Carbon County when the defendant’s car crossed the center line and collided head-on with her. Ms. Burnhauser was taken to the hospital, where she complained of pain in her back, chest, shoulders, neck, arms and legs. At the trial, both parties’ experts agreed that Ms. Burnhauser had sustained soft tissue injuries to her spine as a result of the accident. They disagreed, however, as to the nature and extent of these injuries. After the jury found in favor of the plaintiff but only awarded her damages equal to her unreimbursed medical expenses, the trial court granted her post-trial motion for a new trial on the issue of damages. The Superior Court then upheld this decision on appeal, hold[216]*216ing that “jury verdicts awarding zero damages are against the weight of the evidence where undisputed medical evidence reveals that the plaintiff has suffered injuries in the accident that were of a type normally associated with pain and suffering.” The Superior Court went on to find that since both parties’ experts had agreed that Ms. Burnhauser had suffered injuries of this type, the trial court did not abuse its discretion or commit an error of law in granting a new trial. Burnhauser, 745 A.2d 1256.

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Rozanc v. Urbany
664 A.2d 619 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1995)
Lewis v. Evans
690 A.2d 291 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1997)
Neison v. Hines
653 A.2d 634 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1995)
Burnhauser v. Bumberger
745 A.2d 1256 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2000)
Martin v. Evans
711 A.2d 458 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1998)
Todd v. Bercini
92 A.2d 538 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1952)
Mano v. Madden
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Hawley v. Donahoo
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Bluebook (online)
46 Pa. D. & C.4th 211, 2000 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 282, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ricca-v-jackson-pactcomplbucks-2000.