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Chastain v. General Motors Corp.12/27/2002
FOR PUBLICATION
ON REMAND
This case is before this Court on remand from our Supreme Court vacating this Court's judgment and directing reconsideration and clarification of a specific portion of our prior opinion in lieu of granting leave to appeal. 467 Mich 888 (2002). On reconsideration, we affirm.
I. Facts and Proceedings
A. The Accident
On March 25, 1991, plaintiff Emmett Chastain, an employee of Cashman Equipment Company (Cashman), located in Elko, Nevada, was given two boxes of parts to deliver to another Cashman employee. That employee worked out of Cashman's Round Mountain Gold Mine Office. As was standard with such deliveries, plaintiff was to meet the Round Mountain employee in Eureka, Nevada, at which time the boxes would be given to the Round Mountain employee. In order to reach Eureka, plaintiff was provided with a company owned 1988 Chevrolet C/K pickup truck, one of several truck used for deliveries.
Before beginning the trip, plaintiff testified that he gave the truck a cursory look to "make sure tires were inflated," that the gauges looked good and that "everything" looked alright with the truck. Plaintiff also testified that he went to a gas station in order to "fill up" the truck, put his seatbelt on, and began the trip. In order to reach Eureka, plaintiff began driving southbound on State Highway 278 at a speed of sixty miles per hour. At the time plaintiff began the trip, the weather was clear and dry. However, sometime during the trip it began to snow, causing plaintiff to slow to a speed of approximately fifty miles per hour. Shortly thereafter, plaintiff lost control of the truck. According to plaintiff, the truck began to slide toward the opposite lane of traffic, then began traveling backwards, eventually going off the road, where it hit a roadway marker and a shallow embankment, rolled over, and began hitting things in a "very violent" manner. The plaintiff also testified that he was ejected from the truck through the driver's side window, landing on the ground on his back. Plaintiff found himself unable to move his legs with no way to seek assistance. He remained on the side of the highway until he was discovered by Jerry Sestanovich, a local rancher.
After being on the scene for about ten minutes, Sestanovich was able to stop a passing truck and ask the driver to call for help. Approximately ten minutes later, officers from the Lander and Eureka County Sheriff's Departments, as well as emergency medical personnel, arrived at the scene. It is undisputed that upon their arrival at the scene plaintiff, either voluntarily or in response to questions asked of him, informed them that he was wearing his seatbelt and therefore was confused and concerned about how he ended up outside of the truck.
B. Defendant's Injuries
Plaintiff was treated at the scene by, among others, Dr. Rod Phillips. Dr. Phillips noticed that while plaintiff appeared to be conscious and alert, he was complaining of pain in his neck and abdomen areas and that his legs were cold and numb. Dr. Phillips also noticed that plaintiff was ashen in color, having trouble breathing, spitting blood, and had a large contusion on his back between his T-10 and T-12 vertebrae. Based on these symptoms and complaints, Dr. Phillips believed that plaintiff probably suffered a spinal cord injury. Accordingly, after plaintiff's was stabilized, his neck and back were immobilized and he was transported by ambulance to the Eureka Airport where he was then taken by plane to the Washoe Medical Center. At Washoe Medical Center, Dr. Phillips initial assessment was proven to be correct - plaintiff had fractured his spine betwee
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