Robinson v. Franklin

851 So. 2d 315, 2003 La.App. 5 Cir. 236, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 1801, 2003 WL 21414789
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 19, 2003
DocketNo. 03-CA-236
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 851 So. 2d 315 (Robinson v. Franklin) 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
Robinson v. Franklin, 851 So. 2d 315, 2003 La.App. 5 Cir. 236, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 1801, 2003 WL 21414789 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

| ¡.MARION F. EDWARDS, Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment dismissing claims for damages against in this automobile accident suit. For the following reasons, we reverse in part and affirm in part.

On December 20, 2000, plaintiff, Gwendolyn Robinson, and her daughters Shami-ca, Raion, and Jasmine were parked in the lot of a Kenner, Louisiana gas station. A vehicle driven by defendant, Louis Frank-[316]*316Iin, backed out of a parking space in front of the convenience store at the gas station and bumped Robinson’s vehicle on the rear driver’s side above the wheel well.

On May 14, 2001, Gwendolyn, Shamica, Raion, and Jasmine Robinson (“the Robin-sons”), filed suit in First Parish Court for the Parish of Jefferson against Franklin and his insurer, Allstate Insurance company, | aalleging that they had sustained property damages and injuries as a result of the impact.

A judge trial was held on July 9, 2002. On August 9, 2002, the trial court rendered judgment in favor of defendants and dismissed the Robinsons’ case. This timely appeal followed.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

In their first assignment of error, the Robinsons assert that the trial court erred in not awarding property damages and rental expenses to Gwendolyn Robinson. In the second assignment of error, they assert that the trial court erred in failing to award damages for their bodily injuries, medical expenses and lost wages.

In regard to the first assignment of error, we note that Franklin and Allstate stipulated to liability for the accident, and do not contest on appeal the issues of the car rental expenses and the cost of car repairs related to the accident. Accordingly, we find that the trial court erred in failing to award rental expenses of $56.52 and $295.80, representing the estimate from Allstate on the property damage to Robinson’s vehicle after the accident.

In their second assignment of error, the Robinsons assert that the trial court erred in failing to award damages for their bodily injuries, medical expenses and lost wages.

When an appellate court reviews the factual findings of the trial court, it is limited to a review for manifest error.1 The court may only modify or set aside a factual finding of the jury when it is clearly wrong.2 This is resolved by determining whether the finding was reasonable in light of the record reviewed in its entirety.3

|4In its reasons for judgment, the trial court in this case stated that it based its finding on two major elements: 1) “Both plaintiffs who testified were not convincing that the ‘impact’ which amounted to a ding in one vehicle’s wheel cover would cause bodily injury to four healthy individuals,” and; 2) “The medical records submitted reflected no real objective findings.”

The Robinsons first assert that the trial court erred in failing to sustain a presumption of causation, discussed by the Louisiana Supreme Court in Maranto v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company4:

Plaintiff is aided in her burden of proving causation by the presumption described in Housley v. Cerise, 579 So.2d 973 (La.1991) wherein this court stated that:
[a] claimant’s disability is presumed to have resulted from an accident, if before the accident the injured person was in good health, but commencing with the accident the symptoms of the disabling condition appear and continuously manifest themselves afterwards, providing that the medical evidence shows there to be a reasonable possibili[317]*317ty of causal connection between the accident and the disabling condition.

Defendants, however, cite this Court’s opinion in Kelly v. Lugo,5 where we noted in regard to this same presumption:

Applicability of the above rule is only appropriate when it has been established that plaintiff was healthy before the accident, was unhealthy afterwards, and there is a reasonable possibility of a causal connection between the accident and the injury.

In Kelly, the trial court found that the second element of a causal connection did not exist, and that the plaintiffs had no post accident injuries at all, in spite of the fact that the plaintiffs had all been treated by doctors for injures that were allegedly caused by the accident. We noted in that case that the trial court’s finding was a factual one subject to the manifest error standard.

| BIn the present case, the trial court was presented with the following evidence in regard to each of the Robinsons.

Gwendolyn Robinson testified at trial that she was the driver of the vehicle at the time of impact and gave two accounts of what occurred at the time that her car was struck. On direct examination, Robinson testified that the impact to her car was severe, and led her to believe that someone had landed on the roof of the car. On cross examination, however, Robinson testified that she did not know at the time of the accident that she had been hit, or what side had been hit, because she had been conversing with her daughters. After the accident, Robinson brought her daughter Shamica to work and then proceeded with her daughter Raion to Kenner regional Hospital.

In regard to her claimed injuries, Gwendolyn Robinson testified that on her initial hospital visit on the date of the accident, she was provided ibuprofen for the pain. Robinson later went to Dr. Altman, who recommended a back brace. Robinson testified that she went to therapy until February and stopped because she felt better, and that Dr. Altman prescribed medicines that helped her. Robinson stated that she had a prior accident in which she injured her back and neck, but that she suffered no residual pain from it. Robinson treated with Dr. Altman from December 22, 2000 through May 9, 2001 and testified that she continued to have the same amount of pain throughout. On March 26, 2001, Robinson fell down at home, but claimed that the fall did not exacerbate her injuries from the accident at issue.

Robinson’s medical records were introduced into evidence. Her Kenner Regional records from December 20, 2000 indicate “cervical muscle tenderness,” but that she was released in “good condition.” A March 2, |fi2001 report from Dr. Altman indicated a medical history “significant for a history of back pain.” Dr. Altman opined that all symptoms and findings “are causally related to the accident.” In her visits with Dr. Altman from January 15, 2001 through May 10, 2001, Robinson’s discomfort continued and included neck pain, low back pain, headaches, and “pins and needles” that radiated to her left arm. The medical reports indicate that on May 9, 2001, Dr. Altman recommended to Robinson that she see an orthopedic surgeon, after she indicated to him that turning with her legs was painful. Robinson advised Dr. Altman on May 10, 2001 that she would not be returning for further evaluation or treatment.

In its Reasons for Judgment, the trial court stated that when Gwendolyn Robin[318]*318son testified that she twisted to the direction of the other vehicle and re-enacted the motion in court, she twisted to the right, but that the vehicle driven by defendant had bumped the left rear wheel cover.

Shamica Robinson testified at trial.

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Westley v. Allstate Ins. Co.
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Bluebook (online)
851 So. 2d 315, 2003 La.App. 5 Cir. 236, 2003 La. App. LEXIS 1801, 2003 WL 21414789, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robinson-v-franklin-lactapp-2003.