Villandry v. Gregerson12/19/1991
In this negligence action to recover damages arising from an automobile collision, plaintiff, Melinda Jane Villandry, appeals the judgment entered against defendant, Mitchell Gregerson. Plaintiff contends the verdict is inadequate as a matter of law because the jury assessed her damages at zero. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for a new trial.
Assessment of the damages to be awarded in a personal injury case is a matter within the sound discretion of the jury, and its determination will not be disturbed on review unless it is unsupported by the evidence in the record. Smith v. Hoyer, 697 P.2d 761 (Colo. App. 1984).
Here, one of the jury instructions stated that in order for plaintiff to recover from defendant, she must prove she incurred injuries, damages, and losses that were caused by the defendant's negligence. That instruction further informed the jury that, if one of these three elements was not proven, then it was to fill out Verdict Form A.
Verdict Form A required the jury to answer yes or no to the following questions: (1) Did the plaintiff, Melinda Villandry, incur injuries, damages, or losses? (2) Was the defendant, Mitchell Gregerson, negligent? and (3) Was defendant's negligence a cause of plaintiff's injuries, damages, or losses?
Verdict Form A then states: "We the jury, having answered one or more of the above three questions 'no,' find the issues for the defendant, Mitchell Gregerson." Thus, Verdict Form A was to be filled out if the jury determined that the defendant should prevail on any of the three essential issues involved in the negligence claim, i.e., negligence, causation, and injuries, damages, or losses.
Here, the jury filled out Verdict Form B which asked the same questions as Verdict Form A and was to be filled out only if the jury determined the plaintiff had proved all the essential elements of her negligence claim, i.e., negligence, causation, and injuries, damages, or losses. Verdict Form B required an affirmative response from the jury to all three of these elements, but it differed from the carrying instruction in that it asked, did the plaintiff incur injuries, damages, or losses rather than injuries, damages, and losses. Furthermore, on Verdict Form B, there is a space for the jury to state the total amount of the plaintiff's damages caused by the negligence of the defendant. This is where the jury awarded the plaintiff zero damages.
For several reasons, plaintiff argues that the zero award of damages is improper. First, she claims that this determination is inconsistent with the findings made by the jury under the instructions. Plaintiff also contends that the determination is inconsistent with the evidence and concessions of the defendant.
Defendant responds there is no inconsistency because the jury could have determined that only the plaintiff's medical bills were appropriate damages and that, since they were paid under the No-Fault Act, plaintiff was not entitled to additional damages because such damages, if any, were de minimis. We conclude that the zero verdict award is inconsistent with the jury's determinations under the other instructions as well as the evidence in the case.
Here, an initial jury instruction, not objected to by defendant, stated that the plaintiff suffered injuries from this accident. Furthermore, the carrying instruction stated that the jury should only fill out Verdict Form B if it first determined that plaintiff had incurred injuries from defendant's negligence. Moreover, although plaintiff had some pre-existing injuries, the evidence strongly indicates that plaintiff suffered some new injuries from the accid
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