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Eagle-Picher Industries Inc. v. Balbos8/29/1990
t are not impermissibly inflammatory. Such matters must be left largely to the trial court's discretion . . . . We have examined the photographs and find no abuse of discretion here.
Id. at 527, 276 A.2d 36. Appellant does not contend that the video did not fairly represent decedent's condition. Furthermore, as the Court of Appeals stated in Johnson, supra, all photographic evidence is in some sense cumulative.
The very purpose of such evidence is to clarify and communicate facts to the tribunal more accurately than by mere words. Johnson, 303 Md. at 503-04, 495 A.2d 1. We perceive no abuse of discretion in the trial court's decision to admit the videotape of Leslie Balbos into evidence.
20.
The trial court erred in denying defendants' motions for judgment in respect to Anne Balbos's wrongful death claim since plaintiff failed to present legally sufficient evidence to establish the amount of damages to which the Estate of Anne Balbos was entitled on account of Leslie Balbos's death.
In a wrongful death action, Md.Cts. & Jud.Proc. Code Ann. § 3-904(d) provides that:
For the death of a spouse, minor child, or parent of a minor child, the damages awarded under subsection (c) ["Damages to be divided among beneficiaries"] are not limited or restricted by the "pecuniary loss" or "pecuniary benefit" rule but may include damages for mental anguish, emotional pain and suffering, loss of society, companionship, comfort, protection, marital care, parental care, filial care, attention, advice, counsel, training, guidance, or education where applicable.
Anne Balbos died about seventeen months after her husband's death. Paul Balbos, son of Leslie and Anne Balbos, testified that before his father died the couple took driving vacations together, going all the way to Colorado to visit Paul "many times." Paul also testified that his mother had a long history of arthritis and bursitis, and that she had heart palpitations and aneurisms. According to Paul, Leslie "basically took care of her" doing such things as washing the laundry, driving the car when they went out, and carrying the bags. Finally, Paul Balbos testified that his parents rode an "emotional merry-go-round" during Leslie's battle with cancer and that Leslie "would agonize over what [Anne] would do when he was gone."
At the close of plaintiffs' case, the defendants moved for judgment with respect to the wrongful death claim of Anne Balbos on grounds that there was insufficient evidence of damages to submit the claim to the jury. The court denied the motion. The defendants renewed the motion at the close of all the evidence and the court apparently denied it. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Anne Balbos's estate in the amount of $750,000. On appeal, Celotex assigns as error the court's failure to grant its motions for judgment. According to Celotex,
While there is some evidence that the husband provided services to the wife during their joint lives, there is no evidence of the value of those services, nor is there any evidence of the effect of the husband's death upon the emotional circumstances of the surviving wife.
We note first that Anne Balbos's estate was not required to show that she suffered emotional pain in order to recover in her stead for the wrongful death of her husband. Damages for mental anguish and emotional pain and suffering are but a part of the list of injuries for which a wrongful death claimant may recover under § 3-904(d). Paul Balbos's testimony clearly shows that his mother, by virtue of her husband's death, suffered the loss of his soci
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