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Wal-mart Stores v. Clark12/18/1998
Appellee Jerry Clark received a jury verdict in his favor for injuries sustained in a fall on Wal-Mart's premises. Appellant Wal-Mart Stores now challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury's verdict, claiming Clark did not establish the causation element of his claim or show a reasonable necessity for three diagnostic tests. Finding the jury's determination amply supported by the evidence, we affirm.
ISSUES
Wal-Mart submits the following issues for review:
I. Whether the sufficiency of the evidence presented by appellee failed to meet the requisite burden of proof of causation?
II. Whether appellee is entitled to recover the cost of three diagnostic examinations when the examinations failed to reveal any actual injuries?
In his Statement of the Argument, Clark presents these issues:
1. Did Clark prove that damages resulted from his fall?
2. Are the diagnostic expenses compensable?
FACTS
The facts of this case are not complicated. On January 13, 1994, Clark fell while shopping in the Wal-Mart store in Casper, landing on his right hip and shoulder. A Wal-Mart employee working in the vicinity came to his aid immediately afterward. At first he was unsure if he was hurt, but as he walked through the store he began to experience pain and left without completing his errand. Upon leaving the store, Clark attempted to drive to Green River as he had previously planned, but due to pain and nausea he returned home after traveling approximately twenty miles.
Clark scheduled an appointment with Dr. John Barrasso, an orthopedic surgeon, for the next day. Upon examination, Dr. Barrasso noted a diffuse tenderness over the hip and pelvic area and right shoulder. X-rays showed no fractures, and Dr. Barrasso advised Clark to rest at home. Ten days later, Clark returned to Dr. Barrasso with complaints of continuing pain. Dr. Barrasso prescribed physical therapy. By March 7, 1994, Clark's shoulder had improved, but he continued to experience pain in the buttocks area. During the March examination, Dr. Barrasso detected a "palpable lump posteriorly over the sciatic nerve," which was still apparent in July.
Dr. Barrasso then referred Clark to a neurosurgeon, Dr. Albert Metz. On July 5, 1995, Dr. Metz ordered a bone scan to determine if there was any inflammation in the sacroiliac joint, but the results were normal and offered no explanation for Clark's continuing pain. Dr. Metz then ordered an MRI of Clark's lumbar spine to determine if a lumbar disc problem could have been the source of Clark's pain. The MRI results were also normal.
Clark was examined by Dr. Barrasso's partner, Dr. Thomas Landon, in August 1996. Dr. Landon ordered an MRI to check for a slipped disc. Again, the test results were normal. Dr. Landon's notes from his visit with Clark on September 10, 1996, describe Clark as "clinically getting worse." About that same time, Dr. Metz ordered a third MRI to ascertain whether there was a hematoma in the muscles of the gluteal region. The test results, as before, showed no abnormality, and the source of Clark's problem remained unexplained.
At the jury trial of Clark's suit against Wal-Mart for personal injuries, Clark submitted the deposition testimony of Drs. Barrasso and Metz, as well his own testimony. After a two-day trial, the jury found Wal-Mart eighty percent at fault and awarded damages to Clark in the amount of $35,000. The damages were reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to Clark, and the district court entered its Judgment on Verdict in the amount of $28,000, plus costs. Wal-Mart timely appe
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