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Baker v. Hutson8/20/2002
ome of the case and were therefore biased and incredible. A jury could have found that plaintiff overstated the severity or duration of her symptoms. A jury could have discounted Dr. Birnbaum's opinion of the cause of plaintiff's condition, due to the fact that his evaluation came five years after the automobile accident and was based solely on plaintiff's account of her history. A jury could have found that the emergency room physician was unbiased and had no interest in the case and could have accepted her findings over those of the other providers.
In deciding the facts, jurors have to consider the credibility of the witnesses, the reasonable inferences from the evidence, and the surrounding circumstances in light of their experiences in life. In this case, based upon the evidence and reasonable inferences, a jury could have reasonably concluded that plaintiff was not injured to the extent claimed, that some of the treatment she received was unwarranted or excessive, and that the charges for some of the treatment were unreasonable. Alternatively, a jury could have reasonably concluded that plaintiff was injured in the accident, that her condition resulted from the collision, that some or all of the treatment provided was necessary, and that some or all of the charges for the treatment were reasonable. Thus, the issues of causation and damages were ones of fact and not of law. The trial court erred in directing a verdict on the issues of causation and the past medical bills. In this opinion, we have determined only that there were disputed issues that should have been decided by the jury. None of the comments in this decision should be construed as an indication of what facts and inferences should be found or what result should be reached on a retrial.
In his next point, defendant contends that the trial court erred in giving an instruction which combined disability and the loss of a normal life as an element of damages. Specifically, defendant objected to the following instruction:
"The defendant has admitted liability[;] thus you must fix the amount of money which will reasonably and fairly compensate the plaintiff for any of the following elements of damages proved by the evidence to have resulted from the occurrence, taking into consideration the nature, extent[,] and duration of the injury :
a) the disability, including the loss of a normal life, experienced and reasonably certain to be experienced in the future;
b) the pain and suffering experienced and reasonably certain to be experienced in the future as a result of the injuries;
c) the reasonable expense of necessary medical care, treatment, and services received and the present cash value of the reasonable expenses of medical care, treatment, and services reasonably certain to be received in the future;
d) the value of earnings lost and the present cash value of a decrease in earning capacity.
Whether any of these elements of damages has been proved by the evidence is for you to determine."
Defendant also objected to line (a) in Verdict Form A, which allowed the jury to assess damages for "the disability, including the loss of a normal life, experienced and reasonably certain to be experienced in the future". Defendant argued that disability and the loss of a normal life were to be given in the alternative and not as a combined element of damages.
In response, plaintiff argued that the tendered instruction more accurately states the law than either of the alternatives contained in the pattern instruction. Plaintiff argued that the evidence established that she was disabled and incapacitated to a degree because she suffered
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