Case Title: Cleland v. Wilcox

Citation: 543 P.2d 1032

Docket Number: 

State: oregon

Court: Oregon Supreme Court

Date: 1975-12-26T00:00:00Z

Document:
543 P.2d 1032 (1975)
Wilber D. CLELAND, Appellant,
v.
Heloise A. WILCOX, Respondent.

Supreme Court of Oregon, In Banc.
Argued and Submitted October 29, 1975.
Decided December 26, 1975.
Gary L. Hill, Roseburg, argued the cause for appellant. With him on the brief was Slocum & Poole, Roseburg.
James H. Gidley, Portland, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief was Cosgrave & Kester, Portland.
BRYSON, Justice.
This is an action to recover damages for injuries incurred in an automobile accident. The trial court allowed defendant's motion for involuntary nonsuit. Plaintiff appeals.
The sole assignment of error is that "[t]he trial court erred in ruling that expert medical evidence was required to make out a case of causal relationship between plaintiff's injuries and the accident."
We review the evidence in a light most favorable to plaintiff, including all favorable inferences that may be drawn from the evidence.
On November 23, 1972, plaintiff was driving north on Interstate 5 near Albany, Oregon. Traffic was heavy and plaintiff was forced to stop his car on the freeway. He was struck from the rear by a car driven by a Mr. Newell, who in turn had been struck from the rear by defendant's vehicle. The evidence shows that the impact of the collision was not severe and caused damage of $94 or $95 to plaintiff's car. Plaintiff testified that "all of a sudden I had one heck of a jolt" which "threw me up against the steering wheel." However, plaintiff testified that he experienced no back pains and noticed no physical injury to his person, other than a bruise to his right hand which required no medical treatment. Plaintiff drove on to Portland and three days later returned home and continued his regular activities and work without difficulty.
"About four weeks following the accident" plaintiff began to experience pain in his lower back and right leg. He testified:
The pain gradually increased and in March of 1973 plaintiff visited a chiropractic physician about 10 times in a six-week period. In May of 1973 plaintiff returned to his doctor in Myrtle Creek for treatment and was hospitalized for six days. In June of 1973 plaintiff was referred to Dr. Raaf, an orthopedic surgeon. He diagnosed plaintiff's ailment as a "protruded intervertebral disc" and surgically removed "the protruded part of the disc." The evidence shows that plaintiff "had no intervening consequential trauma to his back from November 23, 1972" until he came under Dr. Raaf's care.
Dr. Raaf's testimony is the only medical or expert testimony offered by plaintiff. This was done by reading his deposition into the record. He testified:
On cross-examination Dr. Raaf testified:
In Austin v. Sisters of Charity, 256 Or. 179, 470 P.2d 939 (1970), an action for personal injuries due to negligence of the hospital X-ray technician, we relied upon the rule stated in Uris v. State Compensation Department, 247 Or. 420, 427 P.2d 753 (1967). In Uris we stated:
Howerton v. Pfaff, 246 Or. 341, 425 P.2d 533 (1967), cited with approval in Uris, involved a rear-end automobile collision. The question was whether medical testimony was required to prove that plaintiff sustained an inguinal hernia as a result of the collision. Plaintiff was "shook up" but there were no other objective signs of injury until 21 days after the accident. We held that an "ordinary hernia" is within common knowledge of laymen but under such facts causation became a medical question. See also Washburn v. Simmons, 213 Or. 418, 421, 323 P.2d 946, 325 P.2d 255 (1958); Larson v. State Ind. Acc. Com., 209 Or. 389, 399, 307 P.2d 314 (1957). In Sims v. Dixon, 224 Or. 45, 48, 355 P.2d 478, 480 (1960), wherein plaintiff claimed chest pain and a heart condition caused by defendant's negligence in a near collision, we stated:
This case is distinguishable on the facts from Feist v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 267 Or. 402, 517 P.2d 675 (1973), and Birkes v. Wade, 266 Or. 598, 511 P.2d 831 (1973). Plaintiff in his brief acknowledges that there is no medical testimony by Dr. Raaf to establish causal connection between the accident and alleged injuries as required in Sims v. Dixon, supra, in the case at bar. Plaintiff states in his brief:
Nevertheless, plaintiff argues that "[i]rrespective of trends elsewhere towards relaxation of the indispensibility of expert evidence, the Oregon Court has achieved significant relaxation" and relies upon Uris v. State Compensation Department, supra.
However, based on the evidence of Dr. Raaf, we cannot agree that the cause of plaintiff's protruded intervertebral disc between the fifth lumbar vertebra and the sacrum was an "uncomplicated situation." The plaintiff very frankly testified that there was no "immediate appearance of *1035 symptoms" and he did not report to the doctor until he became ill with the flu some four weeks following the accident. He had been free from any medical difficulty following the accident. Dr. Raaf testified that "[i]t's extremely difficult to determine all the factors involved in the production of a protruded intervertebral disc" and that about "50 percent of the patients * * * developed the protrusion simply as a result of the normal wear and tear on the back."
For these reasons we conclude that the trial court did not err in granting defendant's motion for nonsuit.
Affirmed.