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LaRose v. Washington University11/9/2004
a single accident" were restricted to the $100,000.00 cap. Id.
However, we do not believe Richardson applies to the present case. The court in Richardson based its decision on a statute dealing with limitations for injuries caused by actions other than medical malpractice. Additionally, while both statutes provide a limitation on recovery, the language of each statute is not the same. Therefore, the court's reasoning in Richardson is distinguishable from the present case.
In the present case, Richard LaRose was a separate plaintiff bringing an action for loss of consortium. Thus, there were two plaintiffs in this case, Richard LaRose and Gail LaRose. Based upon the plain language of section 538.210, and the court's interpretation of this language in Wright, we believe that the statutory cap on non-economic damages was appropriately applied to each individual plaintiff. The judgment was not therefore, excessive.
In its final point on appeal, defendant claims that the trial court erred in denying its motion for new trial because undue prejudice resulted in the court's decision to allow Richard LaRose to testify twice, including once near the end of defendant's case. Defendant argues that such testimony improperly influenced the jury's verdict.
We review the trial court's denial of a motion for new trial for abuse of discretion. Echard, 98 S.W.3d at 567. "A new trial will be available only upon a showing that trial error or misconduct of the prevailing party incited prejudice in the jury." Id.
In the present case, the error complained of was the trial court's decision to allow Richard LaRose to take the stand a second time, after the close of plaintiffs' case. The trial court has discretion to allow a party to reopen his case for any purpose. Lay v. P&G;Health Care, Inc., 37 S.W.3d 310, 328 (Mo. App. 2000). An appellate court will not interfere with the decision of the trial court unless it appears that injury resulted to the party claiming error. Id.
Here, there was no abuse of discretion in allowing plaintiffs to call Richard LaRose to testify a second time. Plaintiffs were already going to reopen their case to present the testimony of Leroy Grossman, an economist. After Grossman testified, Richard took the stand. He was asked a total of nine questions, in an effort to present evidence to support his claim for the loss of companionship and society of his wife, Gail. From the record before us, there is no showing of injury to defendant's case as a result of the brief testimony presented. Thus, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing Richard LaRose to testify a second time. Point denied.
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
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