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Rayburn v. Ponthieux5/4/2005
AFFIRMED.
This litigation arises from an automobile accident which occurred in Alexandria, Louisiana, on May 2, 2003. The defendants, Shirley Ponthieux and the Rapides Parish School Board (School Board), appeal a trial court judgment rendered in favor of the plaintiff, Clyde Rayburn, awarding Mr. Rayburn $85,000.00 in general damages and $3,450.15 in medical expenses as compensation for the injuries he sustained in the accident. For the following reasons, we affirm the trial court judgment in all respects.
DISCUSSION OF THE RECORD
The events giving rise to the litigation are not in dispute. On May 2, 2003, Mr. Rayburn stopped his pickup truck at an intersection and, as he waited for the traffic signal to change from red to green, was struck from the rear by a school bus driven by Ms. Ponthieux and owned by the School Board. He claims that, as a result of the impact, he sustained injuries to his right shoulder, neck, and lower back.
At the July 27, 2004 trial on the merits, the defendants stipulated to liability. In support of his injury claims, Mr. Rayburn testified and introduced the deposition testimony of Dr. Todd Drury, an Alexandria, Louisiana orthopedic surgeon; the medical records of Dr. Robert K. Rush, an Alexandria, Louisiana preventive and occupational medicine physician; the medical records of the Louisiana Physical Therapy Center; and the medical bills associated with his treatment. In response to those offerings, the defendants introduced the deposition testimony of Dr. Douglas Gamburg, another Alexandria, Louisiana orthopedic surgeon.
Mr. Rayburn, an eighty-three-year-old widower, testified that at the time of impact he had his seat belt engaged. Despite that fact, according to Mr. Rayburn, the impact tossed him about the cab of the truck and pushed the truck partially into the intersection. By the time the matter came to trial, Mr. Rayburn's neck and lower back complaints were resolved, but he continued to have difficulty with his right shoulder. According to Mr. Rayburn, prior to the accident he had cut his own firewood, planted and harvested his own garden, tended to his own yard, and performed almost any physical task he desired. He testified that the persistent right shoulder pain now precludes most physical activities. Specifically, he suffers pain anytime he attempts to raise his right arm over his head or to use his right hand to pick up anything or push anything to the side.
When questioned concerning his medical history, Mr. Rayburn acknowledged that he suffered from diabetes and emphysema prior to the accident, but he denied sustaining any prior accidents or injuries. More specifically, he denied having any difficulties with his right shoulder in the years before the accident other than one incident approximately ten years earlier. At that time, he did suffer some right shoulder pain and, believing he was suffering from arthritis, sought medical attention at a veterans administration hospital. According to Mr. Rayburn, the medical personnel at the hospital gave him an injection in the shoulder, which gave him immediate and permanent relief. After receiving the injection, he immediately returned to his employment as an operator of heavy equipment.
Mr. Rayburn did not immediately seek medical attention for the injuries he sustained in the May 2, 2003 accident. Instead, he rode to his Hineston, Louisiana residence in the cab of the wrecker that transported his disabled vehicle. He continued to experience pain from the injuries sustained in the accident and, two days after the accident, saw Dr. Rush. Sometime later, Dr. Rush referred Mr. Rayburn to Dr. Drury, who treated the patient for the right should
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