Westerman v. Shogren

392 S.W.3d 465, 2012 WL 2287554, 2012 Mo. App. LEXIS 846
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 19, 2012
DocketNo. WD 74066
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 392 S.W.3d 465 (Westerman v. Shogren) 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
Westerman v. Shogren, 392 S.W.3d 465, 2012 WL 2287554, 2012 Mo. App. LEXIS 846 (Mo. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

CYNTHIA L. MARTIN, Judge.

Barbara Shogren (“Defendant”) appeals from the trial court’s judgment awarding $200,000 to Cheryl Westerman (“Plaintiff’). Defendant claims that the trial court erred in: (1) denying her motion for a new trial on the basis that the jury’s verdict awarded damages for a future, speculative surgery; (2) allowing an expert witness to testify about his personal neck condition; and (3) issuing a protective order that limited the scope of discovery about Plaintiffs medical issues. We affirm.

Factual and Procedural History

Plaintiff filed a negligence claim against Defendant for injuries sustained during a car accident on September 12, 2008. Plaintiffs petition alleged that Defendant attempted to make an improper left turn in front of Plaintiffs vehicle, and Defendant’s vehicle struck the front of Plaintiffs vehicle. Plaintiffs damage allegation was as follows:

As a direct and proximate result of the aforesaid negligence of Defendant Sho-gren, Plaintiff Cheryl Westerman sustained severe and permanent injuries to her mind and body, including but not limited to her knees, head, neck, and shoulders, and as a result has suffered impaired mobility, mental anguish, scarring, pain, disfigurement, disability, trauma and emotional and mental distress. All of Plaintiffs injuries are permanent, progressive and disabling in nature. Plaintiff has in the past and will in the future incur large and substantial expenses for doctors, physicians, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, therapy, counseling, medical equipment, nursing, implements, surgery, rehabilitation, medical procedures, assistance, and other medical care and treatment. Plaintiff has in the past and will in the future suffer loss of earnings and income and has sustained a diminished ability and capacity to earn income and provide assistance around her household. Plaintiff has sustained a loss of ability to enjoy life, lost opportunities and loss of enjoyment of life. Plaintiff has sustained pain and suffering as a result of the negligence, faults, and omissions of Defendant Sho-gren.

Defendant filed an answer, and the case proceeded to discovery.

As a part of her discovery requests, Defendant propounded interrogatories, one of which asked Plaintiff for information regarding any injuries requiring medical treatment that she suffered in the last ten years. Plaintiff objected to the interrogatory and, subject to that objection, answered the interrogatory based on the [468]*468prior five years. In her answer to the interrogatory as modified, Plaintiff reported that, in May 2005, she suffered a strained back, though she could not recall how. Defendant did not contest the objection to the interrogatory or seek to compel an additional response.1

Defendant also propounded requests for production of documents. Among the documents sought was a signed copy of a medical records release. The release as drafted would have authorized “all [medical] records” without limitations as to time or areas of the body. Plaintiff objected, arguing that the authorization was “overly broad, unduly burdensome, vague and ambiguous.” Subject to that objection, Plaintiff executed a modified medical records release limited to personal health information that related to the Plaintiffs “head, neck, shoulders, upper extremities and knees” dating back to September 12, 2008, the day of the accident. Once again, Defendant did not contest the objection to the medical records release or the limits Plaintiff imposed on the release.

Defendant notified Plaintiff that she would be deposing Dr. Bradley Zink (“Dr. Zink”), Plaintiffs treating physician. Dr. Zink had been Plaintiffs treating physician since 1996. The deposition notice requested that Dr. Zink bring the following to his deposition: (1) “All records that Dr. Zink has in regard to [Plaintiff] and/or this case”; and (2) “All medical records pertaining to [Plaintiff], including but not limited to files, documents, reports, tests, ra-diographs and notations.”

Prior to Dr. Zink’s deposition, Plaintiff filed a motion for a protective order pursuant to Rule 56.01(c). Plaintiffs motion argued that her medical and treatment history before January 1, 2005, should be protected from discovery because it was not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of relevant, admissible evidence. Plaintiff also claimed that requiring her to provide extensive medical and treatment history before the accident constituted an invasion of her privacy. Defendant objected to the motion for a protective order, arguing that access to Plaintiffs medical and treatment history could reveal the cause of the May 2005 back strain Plaintiff disclosed in her interrogatory responses. In addition, Defendant claimed that Plaintiffs broad description of her damages and injuries in her petition opened the door to discovery on Plaintiffs entire medical and treatment history.

After a motion hearing, the trial court entered the following protective order (“Protective Order”):

1. All records in the custody of Dr. Zink regarding injury or illness to Plaintiffs back are discoverable, regardless of the date of the injury or illness.
2. All other records in the custody of Dr. Zink prior to the year 2005 are protected and not discoverable by Defendant.
3. Defendant is not permitted to question Dr. Zink on any injuries or illnesses that Plaintiff may have suffered prior to the year 2005, except any injury or illness to Plaintiffs back.

The trial court’s protective order applied only to Dr. Zink’s deposition and not to any other discovery efforts undertaken by the Defendant.

Plaintiffs case proceeded to trial before a jury. Dr. Garth Russell (“Dr. Russell”), an orthopedic surgeon, testified. Plaintiff [469]*469retained Dr. Russell to evaluate the injuries she sustained to her neck, upper back, and knees as a result of the accident. Dr. Russell testified that he agreed with Plaintiffs treating physicians that her injuries were a result of the car accident and not the result of pre-existing degenerative changes. Dr. Russell testified that Plaintiff had three progressively invasive options for treating and managing her neck pain in the future: (1) take anti-inflammatory medications or narcotics, (2) undergo epidural steroid injections, or (8) undergo spinal surgery. Dr. Russell testified that, based on Plaintiffs stated symptoms and level of pain and according to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, surgery was appropriate. However, Dr. Russell also testified that Plaintiff was attempting to manage the pain in order to avoid surgery. Dr. Russell opined that there was a 45 percent chance that Plaintiff would have to have neck surgery. Defendant did not object to Dr. Russell’s opinion regarding Plaintiffs need for future neck surgery.

Dr. Russell also discussed degenerative changes, an alternative source for Plaintiffs neck pain that had been raised by Defendant. Dr. Russell observed that degenerative changes exist in the neck of “[everybody who’s, say, over 45 years of age.” However, Dr. Russell testified that degenerative changes do not necessarily cause pain. By way of example, Dr. Russell testified that he suffered degenerative changes in his own neck but did not have chronic pain. Defendant objected to this testimony as irrelevant, arguing Dr. Russell’s degenerative neck issues were not a fair comparison to Plaintiffs, as Dr. Russell was twenty years older than Plaintiff.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
392 S.W.3d 465, 2012 WL 2287554, 2012 Mo. App. LEXIS 846, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/westerman-v-shogren-moctapp-2012.