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Duncan v. Kansas City Southern Railway Co.10/30/2000
cident on Rachel Duncan.
Prior to the accident, Rachel was an active eleven-year-old girl, she enjoyed outdoor activities, she was excelling academically in her sixth-grade class, she had many friends, and she was planning to attend college someday. As a result of the accident, Rachel's whole life has changed. The injuries she sustained when she was thrown from the church van have left her a quadriplegic who is totally dependent on others for all her care needs. Rachel's medical diagnosis and impairments include C5 ASIA A tetraplegia, traumatic brain injury , scoliosis, a tracheostomy, neurogenic bladder, neurogenic bowel, muscle spasms, contractures of upper and lower extremities, pulmonary insufficiency, a non- functioning left lung, left-sided hearing loss, severe headaches, anorexia, severe malnutrition, and depression. She also suffers from recurrent pulmonary infections, recurrent bladder infections, and is in constant danger of developing decubitus ulcers and autonomic dysreflexia.
In addition to having to cope with the injuries she sustained in the accident, Rachel is also coping with the fact that her older sister was killed in the accident and her younger sister was injured in the accident. She is no longer able to attend school with her friends, she spends the majority of her day in either her bed or her wheelchair, she can no longer go on the family fishing and camping trips she enjoyed before the accident, and she is aware of the effect her injuries have had on her family. While Rachel still plans on attending college, she will not be able to go off to college like other college freshmen. Even if she decides to move out of her parents home when she becomes an adult, she will require a specially designed home and 24-hour care. Even when all these factors are considered, we find that the general damage award of $8,000,000 is excessive and the trial court abused its discretion in fixing the general damage award to Rachel Duncan. A review of cases involving similar injuries reveals that the highest amount that could reasonably be awarded under the facts of this case is $6,000,000. Therefore, we reduce the general damage award from $8,000,000 to $6,000,000.
Bobby and Nelda Duncan
KCS also contends the general damage awards to Bobby and Nelda Duncan for Amanda's death are two to three times more than the highest reasonable award to parents for the loss of a child. Again cognizant of the fact that our inquiry is not guided by awards made under similar factual scenarios, we turn our attention to the particular facts of this case. On the day of the accident, Bobby and Nelda Duncan were summoned to the scene of the accident by a neighbor. When they arrived at the scene, they witnessed their oldest daughter, Amanda, lying at the scene and were told their other two daughters had been taken to the hospital. Nelda Duncan testified that the family was planning on having a nice Sunday dinner together when the girls returned from church, and she still remembered exactly what she prepared for dinner that Sunday. Nelda also testified to continual feelings of guilt over not driving the girls to church herself. Bobby Duncan testified that they were a close family before the accident and they always did some type of activity together. Both Nelda and Bobby testified regarding the strain placed on their marriage by the accident. Charles J. Monlezun, Ph.D., plaintiffs' expert in clinical social work and public health, testified that in addition to coping with the death of Amanda, the Duncans are also confronted with the severe injuries sustained by Rachel, as well as the less threatening injuries sustained by Myranda. Dr. Monlezun explained that the Duncans' grieving process has been
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