Turner v. Davis

699 N.E.2d 1217, 1998 Ind. App. LEXIS 1638, 1998 WL 687410
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 6, 1998
Docket49A02-9707-CV-483
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 699 N.E.2d 1217 (Turner v. Davis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Turner v. Davis, 699 N.E.2d 1217, 1998 Ind. App. LEXIS 1638, 1998 WL 687410 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinions

OPINION

STATON, Judge.

M. Joanne Turner appeals a $214,000 jury verdict in favor of R. Ross Davis for injuries Davis sustained in an automobile collision. Turner raises four issues on appeal which we restate as:

I. Whether Davis presented sufficient evidence regarding the cause of her sleeping ailment.
II. Whether the trial court erred by refusing Turner’s tendered jury instruction regarding the. standard for evaluating medical evidence.
III. Whether the trial court erred by instructing the jury that it could consider in its determination of damages the value of Davis’s lost wages.
IV. Whether an instruction regarding right-of-ways at intersections with traffic lights was erroneous.

We reverse and remand.

On February 11, 1993, Davis and Turner were involved in an automobile collision. The collision occurred in an intersection with a traffic light which had left turn arrows on both the north and south sides of the intersection.

As Davis traveled north, approaching the intersection, the light was green. When she entered the intersection, however, she noticed a car coming toward her and attempted to put on the brakes. Davis’s car collided with the oncoming car which was driven by Turner. Turner had been driving south and was attempting to make a left turn onto the intersecting road. Turner testified that she saw a yellow turn arrow as she approached the intersection.

Davis was injured in the collision. Following the collision, Davis also developed a condition which made it difficult for her to stay awake. She began falling asleep at work, and the condition affected her concentration and memory. Her work performance suffered, and she was eventually terminated from her job due, in part, to her sleeping ailment.

Davis sued Turner for negligence, seeking damages incurred as a result of her injuries, including the loss of wages resulting from her termination, and reimbursement for the damage to her vehicle. A jury found Turner liable and awarded Davis $214,000. Turner appeals.

I.

Sufficiency of the Evidence

Turner argiies that Davis presented insufficient evidence regarding whether the collision proximately caused her sleeping ailment. Our test for sufficiency of the evidence requires that we neither weigh the evidence nor resolve questions of credibility. We look only to the evidence of probative value and the reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom which support the verdict. Bright v. Kuehl, 650 N.E.2d 311, 315 (Ind.Ct.App.1995), reh. denied, trans. denied (citing Martin v. Roberts, 464 N.E.2d 896 (Ind.1984)).

The evidence most favorable to the verdict reveals that Davis began having difficulty staying awake following the February 11, 1993 collision. She would frequently fall asleep while at work. Her condition caused problems with her concentration and memory, which in turn, negatively affected her job performance. A doctor specializing in sleeping ailments treated her, and a possible diagnosis was narcolepsy. Davis was eventually fired from her job due, in part, to her sleeping ailment.

Turner argues that this evidence is insufficient to prove that Davis’s sleeping ailment was caused by the February 11, 1993 accident. We agree. In Daub v. Daub, 629 N.E.2d 873 (Ind.Ct.App.1994), trans. denied, this court held:

An essential element in a cause of action for negligence is the requirement of a reasonable connection between a defendant’s conduct and the damages which a plaintiff has suffered. This element requires, at a minimum, causation in fact—that is, that the harm would not have occurred ‘but for’ the defendants’ conduct. The ‘but for’[1220]*1220analysis presupposes that, absent the tor-tious conduct, a plaintiff would have been spared suffering the claimed harm.
Hence, in order for the plaintiff to carry her burden of proof, she must present evidence of probative value based on facts, or inferences to be drawn from the facts, establishing both that the wrongful act was the cause in fact of the occurrence and that the occurrence was the cause in fact of her injury. The plaintiffs burden may not be carried with evidence based merely upon supposition or speculation. Standing alone, evidence establishing a mere possibility of cause or which lacks reasonable certainty or probability is not sufficient evidence by itself to support a verdict. Civil liability may not be predicated purely upon speculation.
When an injury is objective in nature, the plaintiff is competent to testify as to the injury and such testimony may be sufficient for the jury to render a verdict without expert medical testimony. Ordinarily, however, the question of the causal connection between a permanent condition, an injury and a pre-existing affliction or condition is a complicated medical question. When the issue of cause is not within the understanding of a lay person, testimony of an expert witness on the issue is necessary....

Id. at 877-78 (citations omitted).

Davis testified that her sleep problems began shortly after the accident. Other than this temporal relationship, she presented no evidence establishing that her condition was caused by the collision. Although Davis introduced medical records establishing that she indeed suffered from a sleeping ailment, those documents contain no doctor’s opinion linking the ailment with the automobile collision.1 The development and cause of an ailment such as this is a complicated medical question requiring expert testimony. See Morphew v. Morphew, 419 N.E.2d 770, 777 (Ind.Ct.App.1981) (expert testimony required to establish the diagnosis of muscle disease); Daub, 629 N.E.2d at 878 (expert testimony required to establish the specific cause of a back injury where plaintiff has history of back problems). Therefore, we hold that Davis presented insufficient evidence to establish that her sleeping ailment was caused by the collision.2

II.

Medical Causation Evidence Instruction

Turner argues that the trial court erred by refusing to give the jury an instruction she tendered regarding the standard for evaluating medical causation evidence. We review the trial court’s refusal to give a tendered instruction’ for an abuse of discretion. CSX Transp., Inc. v. Kirby, 687 N.E.2d 611, 616 (Ind.Ct.App.1997), trans. denied. We will reverse a trial court for failure to give a tendered instruction if: (1) the instruction is a correct statement of the law; (2) it is supported by the evidence; (3) it does not repeat material adequately covered by other instructions; and (4) the substantial rights of the tendering party would be prejudiced by the failure to give it. Id. at 616-17. Turner tendered the following instruction:

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699 N.E.2d 1217, 1998 Ind. App. LEXIS 1638, 1998 WL 687410, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/turner-v-davis-indctapp-1998.