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Fred's Stores of Tennessee11/5/2002
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 11/05/2002
. Ten-year-old Erica Louise Brown was injured while riding a bicycle purchased from and assembled by Fred's Stores of Tennessee, Inc. Her claim was that Fred's had negligently assembled the bicycle. A county judge after a bench trial awarded $35,000 in damages. That was affirmed after Fred's appealed to circuit court. Fred's before this Court asserts that the judgment of $35,000 was not supported by the evidence. We disagree and affirm.
I.
Facts
. On February 28, 1997, Erica Brown's parents purchased a Huffy bicycle from a store owned and operated by Fred's Stores of Tennessee, Inc. The bicycle had been assembled at Fred's. After what was said to be only a few uses of the bicycle, Erica was injured as result of the handlebars becoming loose and causing her to lose control. Erica suffered a broken leg.
. During trial, Erica testified that in the three years since the event of her accident, she still experienced pain and discomfort. Her father testified that she has a tendency to limp and to drag her foot if she over-exerted herself. No physicians testified in person or by deposition, but there were medical records. One of Erica's doctors, Dr. Dudley Burwell, Jr., in his written report of March 1998 cautioned Erica's parents that the results of the injury created "a slight possibility of over-growth of the lateral side of the ankle," which, if it occurred to a significant degree, might require surgery. The same doctor reported five months later that Erica had no complaints during that examination, and no evidence of overgrowth had appeared. At the time of the August 2000 trial, Erica had not seen a doctor regarding her injuries since August 1998. Actual medical expenses totaled $1,121.
II.
Discussion
. Fred's does not seek to reverse the finding of liability. Its complaint on appeal is that there was significant and compelling evidence that Erica had completely healed. What evidence of continuing problems there might have been were, in Fred's view, rather minor problems asserted by Erica and her father, and speculations from what the two non-testifying doctors might have meant with some of their medical terminology. In sum, Fred's argues that there is nothing to support a $35,000 award.
. The argument made is divided into two parts. Firstly, Fred's states that professional testimony was needed and the case could not just be made from the records. Secondly and more generally, Fred's alleges that the $35,000 award was against the great weight of the evidence. The allegations flow into each other, and thus we consider them together.
. Fred's actual terminology as to the records issue is that Erica failed to provide the "best evidence" of her injuries at trial. What were presented were medical records, but the doctors themselves were not called to explain any of the information. Insofar as the label of the "Best Evidence Rule" is concerned, that applies to written documents and provides that original documents should be offered at trial, absent some applicable exception. M.R.E. 1002. Our present issue does not concern whether the originals or copies of these records were offered. Still, Fred's point is clear: it is not valid to present unexplained medical records and allow the confusing medical terms to mislead the fact-finder.
. The medical records were introduced without objection at the beginning of trial. If Fred's believed that the expert testimony in the documents might require expert explanation, the time to make the objection was then. Therefore we find that the r
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