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Couch v. Astec Industries6/19/2002
y regulations, amounted to corporate indifference and reckless conduct).
To the contrary, Defendant introduced evidence that (1) it did have an integrated safety program that included engineers and other professionals; (2) Defendant's engineers met twice a year to discuss safety concerns, and lead engineers met four times a year; (3) Defendant made regular service calls to its customers and was always available to address problems; (4) Defendant tried to fix and address problems as they arose; (5) Defendant provides annual seminars for its customers with product designers and field technicians; and (6) Defendant tests its plants before they are shipped. In addition, with respect to the safety concerns specific to Employer's recycling plant, Defendant offered plausible explanations for the absence of pull cords and other design particulars. Consequently, there was no evidence suggesting that Defendant was cavalier about the plant's safety. Although the jury was not persuaded by Defendant's explanations and determined that Defendant should have done things differently, there was no evidence presented to show that Defendant's failure to do so was the result of the culpable mental state necessary to support an award of punitive damages. We therefore affirm on this issue.
Loss of Consortium
Plaintiff argues that the trial court improperly granted Defendant's motion for directed verdict on Wife's claim for loss of consortium. New Mexico case law recognizes a claim for loss of consortium, which is the emotional distress suffered by one spouse who loses the normal company of his or her mate when the mate is physically injured due to the tortious conduct of another. Romero v. Byers, 117 N.M. 422, 425, 872 P.2d 840, 843 (1994).
Wife introduced sparse and very general evidence on her claim for loss of consortium. When asked how the accident changed her life, Wife responded "in every way imaginable . . . the financial burden to the emotional stress, to our children, everything just is upside down. We haven't had a moment's peace since this occurred." Dr. Arnet testified that Plaintiff's accident caused Wife and the children worry about Plaintiff and that Wife potentially has some secondary traumatization. However, other than a passing reference to Wife, Dr. Arnet's testimony related primarily to Plaintiff's post-traumatic stress syndrome.
We hold that the foregoing evidence was insufficient as a matter of law to permit the jury to consider a loss of consortium claim. The evidence provided the jury with no means for evaluating the claim. For example, Wife introduced no evidence comparing her marital relationship with Plaintiff before and after the accident. See, e.g., Newman v. Exxon Corp., 722 F. Supp. 1146, 1148 (D. Del. 1989) (explaining that the party asserting the claim must have been deprived of some benefit which formerly existed in the marriage). While loss of consortium may sometimes be inferred, Plaintiff did not present sufficient evidence upon which such inference could be made. See Klein v. Sears Roebuck & Co., 773 F.2d 1421, 1428-29 (4th Cir. 1985) (holding that the wife's testimony that husband could no longer perform household chores was insufficient evidence upon which to infer a loss of consortium); Turner v. Smith, 556 So. 2d 983, 991 (La. Ct. App. 1990) (affirming trial court's denial of claim where the only evidence was that husband was "ornery, aggravated, wouldn't laugh and couldn't make love because of pain" and that wife "now has to cut the firewood"). Because the evidence was vague and did not show how Plaintiff's injuries adversely affected the marital relationship, we affirm.
CONCLUSION
We affirm th
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