 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Perrotti v. Gonicberg7/7/2005
lack cloud" over her head "that constantly followed ," is insufficient on its own to constitute the physical symptomatology that is required to establish a prima facie case of negligent infliction of emotional distress that would allow plaintiffs to collect damages. Under this avenue of recovery the trial justice was, therefore, correct to grant judgment as a matter of law in favor of defendant and to deny plaintiffs' motion for a new trial on this issue.
On appeal, plaintiffs also advance their claim for emotional suffering under a different theory of law, namely, that a pregnant woman is entitled to damages for mental suffering despite the absence of physical symptoms resulting from the mental anguish. The plaintiffs rely on two Rhode Island cases they say support their argument. See Arlan v. Cervini, 478 A.2d 976 (R.I. 1984); Gagnon v. Rhode Island Co., 40 R.I. 473, 101 A. 104 (1917).
In Arlan, the plaintiff, a sixteen-year-old girl had suffered extensive facial injuries in a car accident and was left with serious and permanent facial scarring. As a result, she "became depressed, quit school, gained a significant amount of weight, and in general suffered a 'cataclysmic loss of self-esteem.'" Arlan, 478 A.2d at 978. This Court held that "mental suffering, which may include nervousness, grief, anxiety, worry, shock, humiliation, embarrassment, or indignity, arising from consciousness of a facial or bodily scar, is a compensable element of damages." Id. at 980.
We perceive, however, that Arlan is readily distinguishable from the case now before us. Mrs. Perrotti suffered several minor injuries during the car accident on December 25, 1998. She injured her right knee, for which she received treatment initially and, again, over the course of the next several months. A medical note dated April 8, 1999, said, however, that " he right knee is now normal." In addition, Mrs. Perrotti described that she hit her head on the windshield as a result of the accident. Her head was examined at the hospital, but she did not require further treatment. The injury she suffered that is perhaps most closely related to the facts in Arlan is a bruise under her chin that resulted in a scar plaintiff herself described during the trial as " ot super noticeable, you have to be looking under my chin to see it." The plaintiffs in the current case, however, do not allege that Mrs. Perrotti suffered mental anguish as a result of this scar or any of the other physical injuries she suffered as a result of the accident. Rather, the "black cloud" she described resulted from her worries about her unborn child, and disappeared only after the baby was born healthy eighty-eight days later. She described these worries despite the fact that fetal heart monitoring and an ultrasound examination in the emergency room showed normal results, and the rest of her pregnancy passed without any abnormalities or complications.
Our holding in Arlan permitted the plaintiff to recover damages for mental suffering that was the direct result of the facial injuries and scars she sustained as a result of an accident. Mrs. Perrotti does not assert that she suffered mentally or emotionally as a direct result of the injuries she incurred in the car accident. Rather, she alleges mental suffering because of her worries about a part of her body she did not injure in the accident, and for her worries about her fetus which, she was assured immediately after the accident and later on, was doing fine. Therefore, we hold that Arlan does not apply to the case now before us because there is no direct relationship between the physical injuries suffered as a result of the accident and the mental suffering claimed.
In addition, pl
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rhode Island Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|