Voss v. Anderson

745 S.W.2d 189, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 5074, 1987 WL 2740
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 15, 1987
DocketNo. 52742
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 745 S.W.2d 189 (Voss v. Anderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Voss v. Anderson, 745 S.W.2d 189, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 5074, 1987 WL 2740 (Mo. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

KELLY, Judge.

Louis Voss and his wife Linda, along with their two children Jason and Melissa, initiated their personal injury action against respondent James Anderson for damages they sustained in an automobile collision when respondent struck the rear end of their automobile with his police car. Their total prayer sought damages of $440,000. The jury awarded damages of $3,500 to Louis Voss, $5,000 to Linda Voss, $750.00 to Jason Voss and $250.00 to Melissa Voss. The trial court denied their motion for new trial challenging the adequacy of the verdict and rendered its judgment in accordance with the jury’s verdict. Louis, Linda, and Jason Voss appeal. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The evidence adduced at trial reveals the following facts. At the time of the accident Louis Voss and his thirty-three year old wife Linda had been married since October 1970, and were living in Arnold, Missouri. Their son Jason was seven and daughter Melissa, nine months.

The accident occurred early Saturday afternoon on February 13,1982, as appellants travelled north on Grand Avenue in south St. Louis. Grand Avenue, normally six lanes with two traffic and one parking lane on each side, had been reduced to single lanes in either direction in the aftermath of a heavy snowstorm. The road was dry [190]*190with patches of water from melting snow; the day, cold and clear to partly cloudy.

Louis, who was driving the family’s 1980 Pontiac Phoenix, noticed cars stopping ahead of him. He, in turn, slowed his car until it also stopped. A few minutes later, respondent James Anderson, while on duty, struck their car in the rear with his police car. He estimated his speed at less than twenty miles per hour. At impact, Louis Yoss “went forward”, his “head went backward” and he “blacked out” momentarily. The front bench seat of their car went off its track, sliding into the rear passenger area where the children were seated. Them car did not hit the vehicle in front of them, about eight to ten feet away.

After the accident occurred, James Anderson radioed the police for assistance. An ambulance arrived and took Linda and the two children to the hospital. Louis remained behind, speaking with the other officers investigating the accident. He than drove his car to the hospital where he joined his wife and children. Jason and Melissa each sustained a single bruise. They were released after examination without further treatment. Neither Louis nor Linda sought any medical attention at the hospital.

Although property damage was not at issue at trial, photographs shown to the jury and included as exhibits before us indicated the extent of damage to each of the cars. The amount for the repairs to either vehicle was not in evidence. The left and right rear fenders of the Pontiac, as well as the trunk, had buckled in, with the rear bumper and back end of the car pushed downward. The body damage to the Pontiac also extended to the area over each of the rear tires. The police car, a 1980 Ford, sustained some damage to its front bumper, fender, and hood. Despite the damage, both cars were drivable after the accident.

Louis Voss, employed in a managerial position of a freight trucking system, returned to work the following Monday without incident. Linda worked for Consolidated Grain and Barge Company in the freight department monitoring and coordinating the loading and release schedules of barges. When she first returned to work as scheduled on the Tuesday following the accident, she fainted. She was taken to the emergency room at Incarnate Word Hospital. The diagnosis was muscle spasm and x-ray films taken showed no problems. The cervical curvature and the interverte-bral disc spaces of her spine appeared normal, and the soft tissue unremarkable. After noting her condition to be “good”, the hospital discharged her that day with the advice that she take muscle relaxants.

The following day both Linda and Louis consulted their family physician. He prescribed muscle relaxants and pain pills and charged them $20.00 for his services. Both Linda and Louis continued to experience back and neck discomfort. They subsequently consulted Dr. Schwidde, a chiropractor, in late February. Louis saw Dr. Schwidde for approximately one year. Jason subsequently developed back complaints and also saw Dr. Schwidde for about a year.

When Linda saw Dr. Schwidde, she described her symptoms to him as dizziness, shakiness, diarrhea, sudden crying spells, and bumping into walls. Dr. Schwidde stated these were symptoms of whiplash and diagnosed her as suffering from “cervical brachial syndrome” due to muscle spasms. Despite her frequent visits to him over the next five weeks, she became increasingly irritable. She cut back her work schedule. Not detecting any visible improvement, Dr. Schwidde suggested she consult a physician.

She saw Dr. Corder, an internist her brother knew. Dr. Corder admitted her to St. Mary’s Hospital May 12,1982, and took a series of x-rays that day. Those films, like the ones taken at Incarnate Word Hospital, were generally unremarkable.

Upon Dr. Corder’s referral, Dr. Hana-way, a neurologist, also examined her. Dr. Hanaway conducted a battery of tests, including C.T. scan and x-rays. He testified none of these revealed any identifiable problems. He then prescribed double traction for her neck and low back problems during her two week hospital stay.

[191]*191She was discharged from St. Mary’s Hospital on May 28, 1982. The discharge summary from Dr. Corder noted she was given medication. His summary also contained the remarks: “lumbar tract accident, home discharge, diagnosis traumatic low back and neck strain status, post tubalization and tension headaches; follow up, I will see patient in my office.”

Dr. Hanaway had found during his treatment of Linda that her major problem was depression. As he expressed it, she suffered from “two major problems — two physical ones, in her neck and low back, and a psychiatric one which was more profound than I realized initially.” After this discovery, Dr. Hanaway recommended that Linda see Dr. Ulett, a psychiatrist. Dr. Ulett, who utilized acupuncture in his treatment of Linda, was unsuccessful in alleviating her physical discomfort with this technique. Still suspecting “a possible psychosomatic etiology of her complaints”, Dr. Hanaway suggested Dr. Knowles to Linda.

Dr. Knowles, also a psychiatrist, after listening to her symptoms, opined that “she was suffering autonomic nervous system instability and mood liability as a consequence of her physical and psychic trauma”. His treatment plan relied upon sleep therapy to break the anxiety chain enmeshing Linda. She was hospitalized for about one month during August 1982 at Deaconess Hospital where she received sleep therapy, group therapy, physical therapy, and medication.

Upon her release, she started physical therapy in September 1982 as an outpatient at St. Anthony’s Hospital. She eventually returned to work for her employer on a part-time basis the following year in September 1983. She was full-time again by January 1984; first, as a secretary and then, as an invoice accounting clerk, a position she described as less stressful than her original job. About two years later, she quit, deciding to remain at home working as a full-time mother and housewife.

Drs. Schwidde, Hanaway, Ulett, and Knowles each testified at trial by deposition expressing the opinion generally that Linda’s physical and psychological problems were triggered by the car accident. Dr.

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745 S.W.2d 189, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 5074, 1987 WL 2740, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/voss-v-anderson-moctapp-1987.