 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Peters v. Williams12/14/2005
Before BROWN, STEWART and MOORE, JJ.
The plaintiffs, Levorn Peters, his wife Jackie and daughter Raisa, appeal a judgment arising from a collision between Peters's pickup truck and a dump truck owned and operated by the City of Winnfield. Peters contends the district court erred in finding only a "minimal impact" and awarding only $20,323.99 in damages. The City of Winnfield and its driver, Jerry Williams, answer the appeal, contesting the allocation of fault, the awards of consortium to Peters's wife and daughter, and the assessment of costs. We affirm.
Factual Background
The accident occurred on Maple Street in Winnfield. On the afternoon of April 26, 2001, Williams was driving the city's International 3300 truck. He entered the Winnfield Kindergarten Center's U-shaped driveway, collected tree branches, and then exited the same way he came in, slowly pulling onto Maple Street. At that moment, Peters was driving west on Maple Street. He saw the large truck but did not brake or honk his horn; he assumed that it had fully stopped and was waiting for the road to clear. The truck did not stop, however, and entered the street, bumping into the right rear fender of Peters's Chevy half-ton pickup. According to Peters, the pickup "didn't spin around, but it shifted." As a result of the impact, Peters had to replace his right rear fender, right tail lamp assembly and rear bumper at the stipulated cost of $1,674.73.
Peters was employed as a shift supervisor at Trus Joist, an engineered lumber subsidiary of Weyerhauser in Natchitoches, but at the time of the accident he was on medical leave and seeing several doctors. In early April, he had seen Dr. Milton Eichmann, a urologist, for blood in the urine and low back pain; a CT scan indicated possible cancer. Seeking a second opinion, Peters went to Dr. Ratnam Nagalla, a general practitioner who had treated him for back, shoulder, arm and hand pain four months earlier. According to Peters, Dr. Nagalla diagnosed no cancer, only a kidney infection for which she prescribed antibiotics; two days before the accident, he returned to her office, again with blood in his urine. In mid-April, she also treated him for a lacerated finger. Peters also developed serious hemorrhoids; in late April he went to Dr. David Remedios, a general surgeon. Peters testified that Dr. Remedios performed a colonoscopy and rectal surgery shortly before the accident (the doctor's records show this was actually in early May). One day before the accident, Peters returned to Dr. Eichmann, complaining of recurrent blood in the urine and what the doctor noted as "new neck pain." Peters testified that because of the kidney infection, the lacerated finger and hemorrhoid surgery, he was off work about 90 days.
At the scene of the accident, Peters told the investigating officer he was not injured. The next day, however, he returned to Dr. Nagalla for "a lot of stiffness" from the auto accident; she prescribed an anti-inflammatory and a muscle relaxer. He went to Dr. Remedios on April 30 for hemorrhoids, and (according to the doctor's records) did not mention being in an auto accident four days earlier. Dr. Remedios performed a hemorrhoidectomy on May 3, gave him two prescriptions of narcotic pain medicine and monitored him for several weeks. In early June they discussed letting Peters return to work, and on June 13 Dr. Remedios gave him a full release with no restrictions.
Peters testified, however, that the return to work made his neck problems worse, eventually with pain running down his left arm. On June 26, he went to Dr. Kenneth Lim, a chiropractor who had treated Peters for neck pain from an earlier auto accident in October 1996, and
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Louisiana Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
By using the system, you agree to TERMS OF SERVICE
|