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Wright v. General Aviation Co.11/30/2004
AFFIRMED AS AMENDED
In this personal injury lawsuit, after a bench trial, the trial judge found in favor of plaintiff and awarded general and special medical damages. On appeal, plaintiffs, Clifford and Betty Wright, aver that the trial court's award was abusively low and ask this Court to award damages "in upwards of the $50,000 jurisdictional limit set prior to trial." For the following reasons, we amend the trial court's judgment and affirm as amended.
On the evening of July 8, 1997, defendant, Geoffrey Campbell, was employed by co-defendant, General Aviation Corporation ("General Aviation"), driving a fuel delivery truck owned by General Aviation. While attempting to navigate a turn from East Access Road onto Middle Access Road in Kenner, Louisiana, Campbell backed into the vehicle being driven by plaintiff, Clifford Wright.
On November 9, 2000, plaintiff filed the instant lawsuit against Geoffrey Campbell, his liability insurer, and General Aviation Corporation. The matter proceeded to trial on July 17, 2002. After taking the matter under advisement and reviewing post-trial memoranda, the trial judge issued judgment on February 21, 2003 in favor of Clifford Wright and awarded general damages of $6,000.00 and special damages of $2,530.00. On March 10, 2003, plaintiffs filed a devolutive appeal.
At trial, Wright testified that, since 1991, he has had one on-the-job injury and five automobile accidents, including the accident that is the subject of this litigation. Regarding his on-the-job injury, Wright was injured, while he was working for a moving company, when an empty filing cabinet "tipped over" and hit him on the head. He received immediate medical treatment. He was out of work for two weeks with pay as a result of his injury.
In 1991, while Wright was in Dallas, Texas, he was stopped at a stop sign or street light and a person driving a Ford Explorer backed into his Ford Mustang. He sustained a knee injury and property damage and received compensation for his damages.
In 1994 or 1995, Wright was involved in another automobile accident when he turned in front of an oncoming vehicle on Airline Highway. The oncoming Dodge Caravan, which was traveling between 30 and 40 miles per hour, broadsided Wright's vehicle. He testified that he did not receive injuries in that accident.
In his third accident, Wright testified that he was driving a fuel truck on the highway to Venice, Louisiana when another vehicle swerved and struck the fuel truck. According to his testimony, the fuel truck was totaled. Wright did not state whether he received injuries in that accident.
On July 8, 1997, Wright was in his fourth accident, which is the subject of this litigation. Wright testified that a General Aviation fuel truck was stopped at a stop sign on East Access Road. After Wright pulled up behind the truck, the driver "threw it in reverse and.headed back" then "hit [my vehicle] all of a sudden" and "pushed [my vehicle] back about 10 to 15 feet." Wright testified that he saw the truck's reverse lights but he accidentally put his vehicle in park and was unable to get out of the way. Wright testified that, when the collision occurred, his "neck hit the headrest" and his "shoulder hit the back of the seat."
Wright agreed with the police report that the fuel truck was not traveling more than 5 miles per hour when the collision occurred. He stated that, after the accident, he and the truck driver moved the vehicles to General Aviation's building, which was nearby. That night, they spent about two hours waiting for the police and handling the paperwork regarding the accident. Wright stated that he felt pain in his
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