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Rudy v. Bossard2/28/2000
Appeal from the District Court of Natrona County The Honorable W. Thomas Sullins, Judge
NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in Pacific Reporter Second. Readers are requested to notify the Clerk of the Supreme Court, Supreme Court Building, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002, of any typographical or other formal errors in order that corrections may be made before final publication in the permanent volume.
Appellant Hazel Rudy appeals from the judgment entered by the trial court after a jury returned a verdict in favor of Appellees Sharon Bossard (Sharon) and Lawrence Bossard (Lawrence).
We affirm.
ISSUES
Rudy presents the following issues for our consideration:
1. Whether the trial court prejudicially erred by admitting Plaintiffs' Exhibit 13, the hearsay report of a doctor who did not testify at trial.
2. Whether the trial court prejudicially erred by admitting Plaintiffs' Exhibit 14, a 113-page pain diary composed by appellee Sharon Bossard.
3. Whether the trial court erred in denying defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law on Sharon Bossard's claim for future medical expenses.
4. Whether the trial court erred by failing to deduct from the Judgment the settlement payment appellees received from appellant's alleged employer, C&Y;Transportation.
FACTS
This case stems from an automobile accident which occurred in the morning of January 24, 1996. Rudy was driving a pilot car accompanying an oversized load. She entered I-25 from an on-ramp in Casper and immediately steered to the left, across the right-hand lane of traffic, and into the left-hand, or passing, lane.
At the same time, Lawrence was driving a van in the left-hand lane of I-25, and his wife, Sharon, was riding in the front passenger seat. Rudy steered her car directly in front of the Bossard vehicle, and the two vehicles collided. Although Sharon did not state at the scene of the accident that she was injured, she noticed pain in her neck, right shoulder, and right lower back over the course of the day. Sharon sought treatment at an emergency room on January 25, 1996. The emergency room physician diagnosed her condition as seat belt trauma.
Sharon's personal physician, Johnny Mack Tooke, M.D., examined her in March 1996. He determined that Sharon was suffering from a cervical sprain and muscle spasms. Dr. Tooke prescribed an anti-inflammatory medication and directed Sharon to receive physical therapy. In August 1996, Dr. Tooke referred Sharon to Lawrence Jenkins, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon, because she was still experiencing pain in her right lower back. Dr. Jenkins ordered an MRI scan and a CT scan of Sharon's back. The tests revealed that Sharon had a fragmented facet joint between the third and fourth lumbar vertebrae.
The Bossards filed a complaint in the district court against Rudy and her employer, C&Y;Transportation Co. C&Y;Transportation settled with the Bossards, and the claims against it were dismissed. The Bossards tried their claims against Rudy to a jury in November 1998. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury returned a verdict finding Rudy ninety percent at fault and Lawrence ten percent at fault. The jury also found that Sharon's damages were $90,000 and Lawrence's damages were $10,000. Rudy asked the trial court to reduce the amount of the judgment against her by $5,000 to account for C&Y;Transportation's settlement with the Bossards. The trial court refused her request and entered a judgment which was consistent with the jury's verdict. Rudy filed a timely notice of appeal.
DISC
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