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Steel Technologies6/24/2005
AFFIRMING
BEFORE: MINTON AND TACKETT, JUDGES; HUDDLESTON, SENIOR JUDGE.
Steel Technologies, Inc. appeals from a Gallatin Circuit Court judgment based on a jury verdict that awarded over $3.7 million in damages to the estate and two minor children of Melissa Congleton. Melissa was killed when a steel coil weighing over 30,000 pounds fell from a tractor-trailer owned by Steel Technologies and struck the pickup truck she was driving. The issues on appeal are whether the award of $1 million in punitive damages was supported by the evidence and fell within constitutionally-permissible limits; whether damages for emotional anxiety preceding an injury are recognized under Kentucky law; and whether the loss of parental consortium damages awarded to Melissa's two children were supported by the evidence and were excessive.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
The accident that led to these lawsuits occurred on October 7, 2002. Ralph Arnold, an employee of Steel Technologies, was driving a tractor-trailer loaded with steel coils along Highway 421 in Henry County.
When a van in front of his truck slowed to turn left, Arnold braked and one of the coils broke loose. The coil fell from the trailer and struck an oncoming pickup truck in the opposite lane. The driver of the pickup, Melissa Congleton, a married mother of two, died shortly afterwards.
At trial, Arnold testified that he had used only three chains to secure the steel coil to the trailer although he knew that federal regulations required at least five chains. He said that he used the lesser number of chains to save time because he was paid according to the amount of steel he could haul during his shift.
Three complaints were filed in Gallatin Circuit Court following the accident: one on behalf of Melissa's estate for wrongful death and personal injuries; one on behalf of her two minor children, Jacob and Samantha, for loss of parental consortium; and one by her husband, Jason Congleton, for loss of spousal consortium. Prior to trial, the circuit court granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs on the issue of Steel Technologies' liability in all three actions. The court also granted Steel Technologies' motions for summary judgment on the claim of loss of spousal consortium and the claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress made in Jacob and Samantha's complaint. The court denied Steel Technologies' motion for summary judgment on the claim of pain and suffering that was made in the wrongful death action, and reserved judgment on its motion for summary judgment on the claim for punitive damages, stating that "the motion will be denied if Plaintiff produces credible evidence that [Steel Technologies] had experienced previous similar incidents, and will be granted if Plaintiff fails to produce such evidence."
Because the issue of Steel Technologies' liability had already been resolved, the trial, which was held from August 4-6, 2003, was concerned solely with determining the character and the amount of the damages. Testimony was heard from Steel Technologies' traffic manager, its safety manager, and its vice- president for operations; from the tractor-trailer driver, Ralph Arnold; from Jason Congleton's stepmother, a former employee at Steel Technologies; from the Emergency Medical Services employee who first treated Melissa at the scene of the accident; from the Kentucky State Police officer who investigated the accident; and from Jason Congleton.
The jury awarded a total of $3,767,267.00 in damages, allocated as follows: for the lost earning capacity of Melissa Congleton, $660,000.00; for funeral expenses, $7,267.00; for serious emotional anxiety, $1
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