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Moore v. City of Chattanooga11/18/2005
Background
Mr. and Mrs. Moore sued the City and Willie Birdsong regarding an accident that occurred on June 14, 2002. This non-jury case was tried in September of 2004. At trial, the City stipulated that:
The collision which forms the basis of this action was caused by the negligent acts of City Employee Willie Birdsong while driving a truck owned by the City of Chattanooga in the course and scope of his employment by the City of Chattanooga. The City of Chattanooga is vicariously liable to [Mr. Moore] for any damages the court awards [Mr. Moore] in compensation for the injuries he sustained in the subject collision ....
The suit against Willie Birdsong was dismissed. The City also stipulated that Mr. Moore incurred charges for medical treatment of the injuries received in the collision in the approximate total amount of $11,502.50.
Mr. Moore testified at trial. He described the day of the accident as "a sunshiney, pretty day ... a clear day." Mr. Moore explained that he left his shop at 4:30 or 5:00 p.m. driving a 1995 Nissan Altima in good condition and was traveling on Lee Highway when he "noticed a one-ton truck, white one-ton truck that had an orange light flashing on the top. It was erratically weaving in and out of traffic. It was passing everything that was in front of him." Mr. Moore testified that because he wanted to get away from the truck, he decided to get on the interstate and turned on to the interstate entrance ramp. Mr. Moore explained that there were three cars ahead of him on the entrance ramp and that two of these cars were able to merge out immediately. Mr. Moore testified that the car directly in front of him pulled up parallel to the interstate and stopped. Mr. Moore testified that he stopped approximately two car lengths behind the car ahead of him and leaned forward and "looked back to my left to view the oncoming traffic to try to determine when I would be able to merge out." Mr. Moore testified that he was sitting for a minute or a minute and a half waiting for an opportunity to pull out into the heavy traffic. He stated: "Then I was struck violently from the back without any warning or anything. I didn't see or hear the truck coming." The vehicle that hit him was the same one-ton truck he had tried to get away from. Mr. Moore testified that he returned to the accident site several hours after the accident and measured the skid marks made by the truck and that they were 66 feet long. The skid marks made by his vehicle measured 21 feet.
Mr. Moore, who was 55 years old at time of trial, testified that he was "very healthy" before the accident and never had any treatment for, or complaints of back or neck pain. He described his symptoms after the accident stating: "Immediately my neck was burning, the back of my neck from the base of my skull down. It was burning like it was on fire. I thought I had damaged my neck." He testified that after he was struck, he got out of his car and " t that point my neck was the only thing. At that point I didn't feel like it was that severe. It kept continuing to burn." Mr. Moore was taken to the hospital by ambulance. X-rays taken at the hospital revealed nothing broken. Mr. Moore was in the hospital for approximately two hours and then was released.
Mr. Moore testified that by the next morning, it was difficult to get out of bed and once he got up, he experienced pain in his left hip and down his left leg. The pain continued and Mr. Moore sought treatment. He eventually was diagnosed with two herniated disks in his lower back. He underwent physical therapy for approximately two months in the fall of 2002. Mr. Moore testified that during the course of physical therapy, "
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