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Kravitz v. Beech Hill Hospital9/27/2002
any person is not before you and is not material to any determinations that you have to make in this matter." There is no evidence that the trial court's exercise of discretion cannot be sustained, as " ur system of justice is premised upon the belief that jurors will follow the court's instructions." State v. Smart, 136 N.H. 639, 650 (1993) (quotations omitted). Furthermore, the plaintiffs requested that the witness's entire testimony be stricken in order to make Beech Hill "pay the price" for their witness's mistake. As the witness's reference to the three men's race was inadvertent and Beech Hill had previously instructed the witness to refrain from mentioning their race, the trial court's refusal to strike the witness's entire testimony for the purpose of punishing Beech Hill is sustainable.
III. Post-Trial Rulings
The plaintiffs appeal the trial court's refusal to grant additur or, in the alternative, a new trial on damages. Beech Hill argues that the trial court should have set aside the jury verdict, or in the alternative, granted judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Beech Hill also argues that the trial court erred in permitting Kravitz to amend her writ after the jury reached its verdict.
With regard to Doe's damages, no party disputes that it is unreasonable for a jury to find that a fourteen-year-old child had been raped, but award her zero damages. The plaintiffs argue that because the special verdict form indicated that the jury found negligence and negligent causation on the part of Beech Hill, there has been a clear finding as to liability and the damages are grossly inadequate. Beech Hill argues that the jury did not find that Doe had been raped, but instead answered "yes" to the first two questions on the special verdict form in order to reimburse Kravitz for the money they believed she had paid to Beech Hill for her daughter's treatment.
Where there has been a finding as to liability and the damages are grossly inadequate, the appropriate remedy is to order additur, or, in the event the defendant does not consent to the additur, a new trial on damages. See Belanger v. Teague, 126 N.H. 110, 111 (1985); Doody v. Railroad, 77 N.H. 161, 164 (1914). In determining whether the trial court should order a new trial on damages, we have explained:
Where the verdict is decidedly against the weight of the evidence, so that it is apparent that the jury must have misunderstood or totally disregarded the instructions of the court thereon, or must have neglected to consider the facts, and overlooked prominent and essential points in the evidence, where it is such a verdict that twelve honest and intelligent [jurors] would not have returned it, it is the duty of the court to set it aside. Panas v. Harakis & K-Mart Corp., 129 N.H. 591, 599 (1987) (quotations omitted).
The plaintiffs argue that the trial court erred because there was a "clear" finding as to liability and causation against Beech Hill. The trial court explained, however, that there was no clear finding of liability. It stated that " review of the verdict form and the jury's question would indicate that the jury had not found that non-consensual sexual conduct had occurred and that the jury intended to grant no damages to Jane Doe." We agree.
In any negligence action, the plaintiff must prove a breach of a duty of care by the defendant, which proximately caused the plaintiff's injury. See Weldy v. Town of Kingston, 128 N.H. 325, 330 (1986). As damages are an essential element to any negligence claim, a verdict for the plaintiff cannot result without them. See 8 R. McNamara, New Hampshire Practice, Personal Injury Tort and Insurance Practice ยง 94, at 100 (199
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