O n ap peal , Bar r i os do es no t ar gue t hat he est abl i shed anydam ages f orm ent al ang ui sh. 1
T he j ur y was asked t o det er m i ne t he " sum of m oney , i f pai d now i n cash, [ t hat ] woul d f ai rl y and 2 r easona bl y com pensat e Li z andr o Bar r i os f or hi s i nj ur y , i fany , t hat r esul t ed f r om t he o ccur r ence i n qu est i on" fo r p a s t a n d fu tu re "[p ]h y s i c a l p a i n a n d m e n ta l a n g u i s h ." 

### NUM BER 13-07- 0046 9-CV 

## COURT OF A PP EA LS T H I R T E E N T H D I S T R I C T O F T E X AS C OR P U S C H R I S T I -E D I N B U R G
LIZA ND RO BA RR IOS, A pp ellan t,
v. KIN G F ISHE R M A RIN E SE RVIC E, L .P., A pp ellee.

On ap pe al f rom th e 1 97t h Dist rict C ou rt of C amero n Co un ty , T exas . 

## ME MOR A N D U M OP I N I ON B efo re J u st ic es Y añ ez , R o d rig u ez , a n d G arza M emo rand um Opin ion b y Ju stice Ya ñe z Appel lan t, Liz andro Bar ri os, sued his employ er , appel lee Ki ng Fi she r Ma ri ne Service, L.P. ("Kin g Fisher"), for an injury he su staine d w hile w orking on a dredging v essel. T he jury awarded Ba rrios $130 ,00 0 for past m edica l ex pen ses. It awarded zero dam ages, how ev er , for phy si cal pai n and mental angui sh. By one is sue, Bar ri os cont ends that the 1 j ur y ' s fi nd i ng o f no d am ag es for "pa i n an d s uffer i ng " w as factu al l y i ns uffi c i en t. W e affi r m.

2T he i ssue o fwhet herBar r i os f r act ur ed h i s wr i s t w as cont est ed a t t r i al

. However , at t r i al , Bar r i os 3 c h o s e to n o t s u b m it th e is s u e o fth e w r is t in j u r y to th e ju r y. 2 I. B A CKGRO UND Barrios w orked for King Fi sher as a bo atm an o n the Sham rock, a dred ging v essel. As a boat man, Ba rr ios 's duti es inc lud ed, a mong othe r thi ng s, ri g g ing l ine s, sec ur ing barg es to t he Sha mroc k, and unl oadi ng barg es. O n Febr uar y 19, 2 005, Bar ri os re por ted t hat h e injured his lef

t w rist. Barrios wentto the Valley Day a nd Night Clinic (the " Clinic") in Brownsv ille, Te x as, an d a cast wa s p la ced o n his lef t arm. Barrios retu rned to w ork

3
w ear ing the cas t w it h i nst ru cti ons that he w as to "retur n to li g ht du ty ." On M arch 10, 2 005, Bar ri os re porte d t h a t he had fall en w hil e w alk ing dow n the stairs on the Sha mrock and injured his lef t side. Accordin g to Barrios, w hen he fell, he hit his head, ar m, and shoul der

. After re cei v ing treatment at the Cl ini c, Bar ri os beg an s eei ng
an or thopedi c s urg eon, Gui ll er mo Pec hero, M .D

. Ev entual ly , D r. Pec hero c oncl uded t hat Barrios had a tear in the ann ular lig am ent covering the disc in the C5-C6 level of his neck and per formed s urg er

y on t he area. Bar ri os sued Ki ng Fi sher for neg li g ence. The tr ial co urt s ubmitted l iab il ity q uest ion s on neg li g ence for th e M arch 10 inc ide nt; how ev er , Bar ri os w aiv ed submi ss ion of an i ss ue regarding the Februa ry

19 incide nt. T he jury foun d tha t Barrios and King Fi sher w ere ea ch f if ty perce nt negli gent. T he jury awarded past me dical expense s of $13 0,0 00 to Barrios; how ev er , the jur

y found z ero damages for f uture medi cal ca re and pastand future phy si cal pai n, ment al ang uis h, l oss of ear nin g ca paci ty , di sfig urement, and physi cal i mpair ment. Bar ri os filed a mot ion for new tri al, w hic h the tri al cour t den ied

. This appeal ens ued. II. T H E E V I DE NCE Bar ri os tes ti fied th at x-ray s rev eal ed th at he ha d f ractured hi s w ri st and t hat t he doct or ordered "v er

y si mple w or k" and rest ri cte d him f ro m usi ng his left hand. Acc ordin g to Ba rrios, the "ca pta in, the peo ple i n charge of the dred ge" told him tha t he had to g o ba ckT am m y Boy d, t he h um an r esour ce m anage r f orKi ng Fi sher , t est i f i ed t hat aft erBar r i os f el l down t he 4 st ai r s, he was bei ng t r eat ed a t t he Cl i ni c " f ora spr ai ned cer v i cal ar ea, whi ch i s the n ec k , and a spr ai ned shoul der

. " However , accor di ng t o Boy d, Bar r i os en ded t he co ur se of t r eat m ent wi t h t he C l i ni c w hen he st opped showi ng u p f orhi s shi ft on M ar ch 17

. Boy d st at ed t hat t he p hy si cal t her apyhad not bee n " set up" because Bar r i os di d no t r et ur n t o wor k

. Boy d s t ated tha t to her knowl edge, Bar r i os ha d no t und er gone p h ys ic a l th e r a p y.

D r. P ec her o exp l ai ned t hat an M R I i s a dev i ce ut i l i z i ng l ar ge m agnet s t hat al l ows doct or s t o see 5 in s id e th e p a tie n t's b o d y. 3 to wor k a nd th at he woul d be g iv en "an easy j ob"; h ow ev er , Ba rr ios st ated he w as ass ig ned h is fo rm e r d u t ie s a s a b o a t m a n
. B a rr io s t e s t if ie d t h a ta s a b o a t m a n , h e wa s t o ld t o m o ve the a nchors a nd w hen he w alk ed dow n the stairs to do so, he fell and w as inj ured ag ain

. B a rr io s st a t e d t h a tt h e st a irs we re we ta n d sl ip p e ry. Bar ri os tes ti fied that "they " ordered hi m to s itdow n for a w hil e and "they " made a
re por t. Bar ri os w ent home to re st and then retu rn ed to w or k as sche dul ed. Acc ordin g to Bar ri os, w hen he re tur ned t o wor k, he to ld "the peopl e in charg e" that he w anted to s ee a doct or beca use he w as "b ruised w here [he] had fallen. " Barrios state d tha t his side hu rt beca use h e hit his he ad, arm, an d sho ulde r. Barrios sought treat me nt atthe Clinic, w here a physi ci an to ld him to go h o m e , rest , and beg in phy si cal therapy
. Ev entual ly , Ba rr ios 4 soug ht t re atment from D r. Pec hero. Dr . Pe chero tes ti fied th at he beg an s eei ng Bar ri os on M arch 22, 2 005, and t hat Bar ri os compl ain ed of pai n i n the neck and l eft shoul der

. Bar ri os tol d D r. Pec hero tha t he ha d i nj ured hi s ne c k an d l eft s ho ul de r w he n he fel l off a "l ad de r " w hi le w orking as a boatman for Ki n g F ish e r. D r. Pec hero bel iev ed th at t he hi sto ry prov ide d by

Bar ri os w as
cons is tent w it h the i nju ri es Bar ri os desc ri bed. D r. Pec hero s tated thathe s tar ted B ar ri os on physi cal therapy

and pai n m e dic ati ons. Ac cordin g to Dr . Pe chero, B ar ri os cont inu ed to c omplai n of pai n and that dur ing the firs t si x to ten mont hs of tre atment, Bar ri os did not seem t o be improv ing

. Dr . Pe chero w as conc er ned becau se t h at meantthatso methi ng was " goi n g on in hi s n e ck " an d th e tre a tm e n t was no t work in g. Altho ugh Dr. Pechero recalled th at an MRI had bee n pe rforme d on Barrios in April of 2005, he di d notrecal l the ex actdate or the resul ts of the repor t. A sec ond M RI w as 5D r
. Pecher o de scr i bed t hat a bul gi ng di sc occur s w hen a l i gam ent t hat nor m al l y hol ds t he g el at i nous 6 m at er i al of

t he d i sc i s t hi nned out orhas been t or n. D r. P e c h e ro e x p l a i n e d th a t a d i s c o g ra m i s a p ro c e d u re w h e re b y a n e e d l e i s u s e d to i n je c t d y e i n to 7 t he d i sc ar ea t o de t er m i ne i ft her e i s a t eari n t he d i sc causi ng p ai n.

D r
. Pecher o st at ed t hat a t or n di sc m eans t hat " [ t ] he f i ber s t hat , t hat sust ai n t he d i sc, t hat m ake up 8 th e d i s c a re to rn , a n d th e p a i n fi b e rs i n th e re i n tu rn c a u s e p a i n ." 4 per formed on June 1, 20 05, a ll ow ing Dr. Pechero to v iew Barr ios 's nec k a nd di sc er n the
v ertebral bodi es, the dis cs , and sp ina l cord. Dr

. Pech ero opi ned t hat t he M RI sh ow ed th at Bar ri os had a "[b]ul g ing di scat C5- C6 lev el. " Acc ordin g to Dr

. Pech ero, a bul g ing dis c c an 6 be a problem and can cau se pa in in the n eck. After hear ing Bar ri os desc ri be pai n in his neck and dow n hi s l eft ar m and de creased
sens ati on and w eakne ss i n the l eft ar m, Dr

. Pech ero became conc er ned t hat t he c li nic al
ex aminat ion w as not cons is tent w it h the M RI

. Dr . Pe chero s tated thathe s uspected t hat
som eth ing was irri tatin g the nerve and th at "[ t]he re w as a progressiv e prob lem thatw asn't
re sol v ing i tse lf," s o he order e d a dis cog ra m. Ac cordin g to Dr . Pe chero, t he di sc og ra m 7
re v eal ed th at B ar ri os had a tor n di scand that he w as hav ing pai n. 8 Dur ing cross -e x aminat ion , t he foll ow ing co ll oq uy oc cur re d: [Ki ng F is her's co unsel ]: Now in these d iscog ra ms that y ou'v e l ooked at, in the maj or ity

of them, if nota ll of

them, y ou un de rs ta nd t ha t th ey ' l l d o w ha t th ey call a Ma rc ain e c hal len g e? [Dr. Peche ro]: Yes. [King Fisher's counse l]: Can you tell us w hata Marcaine cha llenge is? [Dr. P eche ro]: W ell, to see how th e pa tientreacts, w e just inject a numbi ng medi cat ion

. [ K i n g F i s h e r ' s c o u n s e l ] : Oka y
. So f irs t y ou mi g ht prov oke pai n in a cer tai n di scarea, r ig ht? [D r. Pec hero]: Cor re ct. [ K i n g F i s h e r ' s c o u n s e l ] : And then in o r d e rt o m a k e s u r e t h at the re spons e i s a n accurate respon se, y ou'l l then i nj ect a pa i n rel i ef m edic at i on i nt o th e s am e area, r ig ht? [D r. Pech ero]: W ell , t h e y u su a lly i n je cta d ye. I'm not re alD r
. Pecher o exp l ai ned t hat C T and C AT scans ar e " x- r ay s t hat ar e t aken usi ng t he sa m e wayy ou 9 ta k e c o n v e n ti o n a l x -r a y s , b u t d o n e a t c ro s s -s e c ti o n a l c u ts , m u c h th i n n e r." 5 famili ar w it h how

eac h one of them do i t. Itmay be a li ttl e di fferent. [ K i n g F i s h e r ' s c o u n s e l ] : But the Marcai n e c h a l l e n g e a s s is ts the doct or per forming the dis cog ra m in maki ng sure that the pai n respon se is a tr uthful pai n respon se, r ig ht? [D r. Pec hero]: Cor re ct. [King Fisher's coun sel]: Beca use this is a provocation test, w here y ou're re ly ing upon the s ubj ect iv e c o mplai nts of the pati ent, ri g ht? [D r. Pec hero]: I t hin k p art of i t i s. The oth er par t i s o bje cti v e. [ K i n g F i s h e r ' s c o u n s e l ] : Oka y
. But t h e re i s a porti on of i t w her e y ou inject dye into a disc area in an ef fort to provoke pai n, an d if itdoes prov oke pai n the n the pati ent is reli ed upon to s ay , ' Y es, I' m ex per ien ci ng pai n,' or ' No, I' m not, ' cor re ct? [D r. Pec hero]: Cor re ct. [K i ng F i s he r ' s c ou ns el ]: And the n to test w het her that wa s a correct re spons e the y 'l l als o i nje ct, t h en, t he M arcai ne, w hich i s a pai n reli ev er , t hat s houl d el imi nate that pai n, r ig ht? [D r. Pec hero]: Cor re ct. [Ki ng F is her's co unsel ]: And so that' s how y ou—t hat' s one way t h at t he do c to r d oi ng t he tes t c an und ers ta nd w i th s om e g re ater deg re e of cer

tai nty w hether the re sul t of the patie nt com plainin g abo ut ha v ing pain w as a cor re ct re spons e, r ig ht? [D r. Pec hero]: Cor re ct. Dr . Pech e ro ag re ed th at no M arcai ne c hal len g e w as per formed on Bar ri os and t hat n o oth er test was performe d to establish the accura cy of the discogram. W hen King Fisher's
coun sel asked , " [ T h e do ctor performin g the ] discogram . . . relie[d] solelyupo n [Ba rrios] sta ti ng thathe was feeli ng and ex per ien ci ng pai n i n a p arti cul ar area after

the inj ect ion ?", Dr . Pe chero respon ded, "Cor re ct. " A CT scan of Ba r r i os ' s n ec kw as t ak en a fte r t he d i s c og ram w as p er for me d. Dr

.

96

Pech ero opi ned t hat t he CT sc an show ed lea kag e of t he dy e in the mi ddl e nec k i n the C 5- C6 lev el discs. Dr. Pech ero explained t hatt he dye lea king ou t of t he disc me antt hatthere
w as a tea r. Dr. Pe chero then performe d surgery to remo v e the af

fecte d disc. Dr. Pechero sta ted: Th e d i s ci s re mo v e d a l l t h e w a y t o w a rd t h e b a c k

. Th e re ' s a s p a c e t h a ti s l e ft in. That' s repl aced w it h a b one of appropr iat e hei g ht an d w idt h. Onc e the b o n e i s p l a c e d i n th e re , th e pl a t e i s pl a c e d on fro n tt o s e c u re t h e b o n e g ra ft and the pla te is held wi th th e screw s. Dr. Peche ro testif ied th at alth ough th e bo ne placed in Barrios's neck has n ot com plete ly hea led, Ba rrios has no m ore pa in and "[n] euro logically , the arm is back" w ith no w eakn ess
or num bne ss. On f urthe r cross-examina tion, Dr. Pech e ro c larif ied th at alth ough Ba rrios i nitially
com plaine d of

sh ould er pain a nd p hysical the rapy was prescribe d, th at injury "e v ent ually
re sol v ed i tse lf" as ear ly as Apr il or

Ju ne of 2005. D r. Pec hero ans w ered "c or re ct" to t he follo w ing q uest ions a sk ed by Ki ng F is her's co unsel : (1 ) "[T]here's a di fference betw een obj ect iv e and subj ect iv e ri g ht?"; (2 ) "Subj ect iv e, you hav e to re ly to a l arg e extent upon t hat
w hic h i s t old y ou by

the pati ent, ri g ht?"; and ( 3) "W hereas obj ect iv e i s s omethi ng i n the form o f a diagnostic stu dy tha t's not reliant upo n the pat ient sa y ing anything; it's there in black and w hite? " Dr. Pech ero also ackno w ledged that th e Jun e 1 MRI did notobject iv ely subs tanti ate B ar ri os' s s ubj ect iv e c omplai nts of pai n. On c ro ss -e x aminat ion , D r. Pec hero tes ti fied th at t he bul g e he saw on t he J une 1 MR I w as a mini mum to moderate b ulg e, t hat many peopl e hav e mi nimal bul g es at t hei r C5- C6 lev el, an d tha t such bu lges usuallydo no t impin ge upo n the nerve roots. Dr. Peche ro cl ar ified thatal thoug h the bul g e does not impi ng e on a ner v e, t he pat ien t may

st il l suffer from radi cul ar

pai n—t hat i s, pai n radi ati ng dow n the ar m. D r. Pec hero the re fore opi ned tha t the bulge in B arrios's d isc, e v en if it did notd irectly

impinge th e ne rv e, cou ld have still
caus ed radi cul ar

sy mptoms from othe r pathol og y , s uch as chemi ca l s w it hin the dis c l eaki ng out, caus ing i rr it ati on to the ner v e. Dr . Pe chero s tated thati t w as poss ibl e that the i nju ry he o bser

v ed on the C T sc an7

could h a ve o c c u rred before the March 10 incide nt an d tha t he relied on Ba rrios's descript ion of

ev ent s to det ermin e the ca use of t he injury

. Dr. Pech ero agreed th at th e CT
sc an w as the firs t obj ect iv e dia g nost ic tes t that subs tanti ated Bar ri os' s compl ain ts of pain. Dr . Pechero t est ified he b eli ev ed th at B ar ri os had an annul ar tear w it h an int ra dis cal dysfu nction . Althou gh Dr . Pech ero stat ed th at he obse rve d t h e a n n u la r tear on th e CT
sc an, h e s tated thatthe int ra dis cal dy sfuncti on w as not seen on any of the t est s p er

formed on Bar ri os. Dr . Pechero ex pla ine d that an int ra dis cal dy sfuncti on is dia g nosed bas ed on cl ini cal findi ng s. Ki ng Fi sher's couns el ask ed, "And by ' cl ini cal findi ng s' y ou're referr ing to the pati ent' s subj ect iv e compl ain ts of pa in and how he re spond s dur ing examinat ion , ri g ht?", to w hic h D r. Pec hero respon ded, "Cor re ct. " Dr . Pe chero recal led that an MR I had been per formed on Bar ri os in Apr il of 2005; how ev er , no re por

t of the M RI w as inc lud ed in his records. After re v iew ing a repor t from the d octo r who p erforme d the A pril 12 MRI, Dr. Peche ro testif ied th at th e repo rt stated it
w as a "[ n]o rmal MRI of the cervical spine," and the rep ort did no t referen ce a b u lg e. Dr. Pech ero ag re ed w it h the repor t' s f ind ing s t hat t here w as no bul g e or abnor mali ty

sh ow n on the A pr il 12 M RI

. Ar nul fo R. Gar

z a- Val e, M .D ., a neurolo g ic al surg eon, t est ified by v ide otape depos it ion for K ing F is her

. Dr . G arz a- Val e s tated , "Neu rosurg er y i s a su bspec ial ty

of
surg er y thatdeals w it h the diag nosi s and treat ment of co ndi ti ons of the brain and spi ne," includin g traum atic con d it ions, n on-trau ma tic cond itions, b rain tum ors, spina l tumo rs, hern iated discs in the ne c ka n d b a c k, and the en tire spinal colu mn . According to Dr. Ga rz a-Va l e, a p ers on w ho h as a n i njury to h i s o r h er s pi na l c ol um n c an h av e s y mp to ms in other l ocat ion s of the body

"depend ing on w hat' s a ffect ed. If it 's a ne rv e, for ex ample, in the c ase of a her nia ted d is c, y ou c an hav e s y mptoms that ra dia te [ dow n] t he ar m." Dr. Gar z a- Val e per

formed an "ind ependent medi cal ex aminat ion " of Bar ri os on Janua ry 31, 2006, and al so re v iewed th e medi cal record s a n d d i ag nost icst udi es per formed i n th i s c as e. D r
. Ga rz a-Va l e s ta te d th at he rev i ew ed an M R I of Ba r r i os ' s l eft should er,8

w hic h he and t he radi olo g is t w ho performed the MR I concl uded was nor mal. D r. Gar z aVal e s tated thatthe onl y thing he found obj ect iv ely w ro ng w it h Bar ri os' s l eft shoul der w as deg enerati v e c hang es, w hic h are c aused by the course of t ime and t he us e of and wear and t ear of the s houl der

. W hen D r. Gar z a- Val e c o n d u cte d hi s i ndependen t medi cal
ex aminat ion of Bar ri os, Bar ri os ind ic ated that he c oul d notco mplet ely rais e ei ther

hi s r ig ht or lef t shou lders up—B arrios co uld only lif t his lef t shou lder one h und red de grees a nd h is ri g ht s houl der

about120 deg re es. Howev er , Dr . Garz a- Val e w as unabl e to find anythi ng
w ro ng w it h Bar ri os' s l eft shoul der from t he di ag nost icst udi es that w ere per formed. Dr. Garz a-Vale did notbelieve that Ba rrios's compla ints of pain to his should er w ere consiste nt w ith the Ma rc h 11 inciden t. Dr. Garz a-Vale ex plaine d tha t Barrios f irst compl ain ed of sho uld er pai n after

the Febr uar

y 11 i nci dent w hen he in ju red hi s w ri st. T here fore, be cause Barrios had sy mp tom s before the March 11 incide nt, Dr. Garza-Vale
w as not c onv inc ed th at B ar ri os w as ex per ien ci ng "referred" pai n to the s houl der from t he neck

. Dr

. Gar

z a- Val e tes ti fied that re ferred pai n oc curs, for ex ample, w hen you hav e an injuryto yo u r h a n d a n d t h e pa in radiate s f rom your han d to your neck or shou lder. Dr. Garza-Vale did no t believe thatBarrios suf fer e d a n y referred pa in beca use " typically referred pa in is a n euro logical pa ttern " going f rom proximal to distal and d oes notusua lly g o from t he di sta l to t he prox imal

. Dr . G arz a- Val e ex pla ine d tha t most ner v es hav e a t endency

to caus e pai n in the dis tal direct ion , aw ay from say the neck do w n th e s h ould er to the han d. Butit's unusu al to ha v e pa in from the hand ba ck

to the n eck

. There are c a se s o f t h a t ty pe of referred pai n, be caus e nerv es do hav e interconne cti ons that g o bac k a nd fort h, bu t the more ty pical pa in is from proxi ma l to distal. Dr . G arz a- Val e tes ti fied th at the ty pe of inju ry Dr. Pechero di ag nosed Bar ri os w it h is an a nnul ar

tear w it h an int ra dis cal dy sfuncti on. Dr . G arz a- Val e ex pla ine d tha t
means that the annul us, w hic h is the li g ament that cov ers the d is c mat er ial here (indicating), so it's a lig am entthatis 360 de grees a roun d, an d its sort of l ik e a cov er , li ke a w ra ppi ng for the cent er por ti on of t he d isc ca lle d the nucl eus. So w hen y ou s ay thatthi s ro und str uct ure, the a nnul us, i s b ro ken, nowthe c e n t ra l p o rt i o n o f t h e d i s c o r t h e n u c l e u s c a n c o me out a nd compress co rd o r ner

v e root, but you hav e to hav e thi s t ear of the a nnul ar li g ament. Acc ordin g to Dr . Garz a- Val e, Barr ios did not suffer an annul ar

tear and nothin g w as bei ngD r. G a rza -V a l e s ta te d th a t "[ t]h e c l i n i c a l p i c tu re is s e t f o rth b yth e p a ti e n t' s s u b je c ti v e s y m p to m s "; 10 t her ef or e, he r el i es on t he p at i ent ' s t r ut hf ul ness. 9 compress ed. Dr . G arz a- Val e s tated , T his gentlem an h ad n um bne ss througho ut th e arm
. He h ad weakne ss throu ghout the arm. In fa ct, he g ave v ery little ef fort in his examina tion. He justreal ly

di dn'tdo muc h of anythi ng
. And s o the re w as re all y no c li nic al ex am that c o rre lated w it h a h er nia ted d is c, an annu lar tear , c ompre ss ed nerve, non e of

those feat ures tha t y ou n o rm a ll y se e in a he rniate d disc sy ndrome. Dr. Garz a-Vale testif ied th at th e clinical picture th at he g ath ered f rom Barrios did not ma tch
a d ia gn o s is o f

a n a n n u la r t e a r o r a d ia gn o s is re qu ir in g f u rt h e r t re a t m e n to r s u rg e ry. 10 Dr. Garz a-Vale explained tha t Barrios com plaine d of bilateral pa in and not pa in only to th e lef t arm, wh ic h d oes n ot correlat e w ith he rniate d disc sy ndro me . Dr . Garza-Vale sta ted t hat B ar ri os "g av e mi nimal effort" duri ng the ex am and had a weak g ri p. Dr . G arz aVal e tes ti fied th at there w as no reas onabl e ex pla nati on for Barr ios 's w eak g ri p. Acc ordin g to Dr

. Gar

z a- Val e, that ra is es a "big re d flag " that Bar ri os w as "putti ng on s y mptoms that [we re n o t ] t h e re
. " Dr

. G a rza -V a le sa id t h a tB a rr io s wo u ld n o tra is e h is a rm s a b o ve shoul der l ev el and th a t meant Bar ri os w as not g iv ing any effort. D r. Gar

z a- Val e s tated , "This g entl eman had—h ad—he w as w ell musc led , let 's put it that w ay
. He did not hav e ti ny
ar ms. And a fell ow

that 's thatw ell musc led thatca n'trais e hi s a rm s u p , th at' s p re tty
re mark abl e." Acc ordin g to Dr . G arz a- Val e, t hat s y mptom w as inc onsi ste nt w it h a h er nia ted di s c , a n d i f B a r r i o s h a d a p ro b l e m a t t h e C 5 o r C 6 l e v e l , " h e w o u l d h a v e h a d c omfort by li fting hi s a rms up." Dr . G arz a- Val e opi ned t hat i f a pati ent h ad a probl em w it h the C5- C6, ov er ti me, one
w oul d s e e a troph y

of the m uscles—th e bicep s w ould beco me w eake r and w ould shrink. Howev er , in Barr ios 's case, Dr . Garz a- Val e obs er v ed th at B ar ri os' s r ig ht an d l eft musc les
w ere i denti cal and there w as no at ro phy

. Dr . G arz a- Val e bel iev ed th is m e a n t that the
nerves w ere w ork in g f in e o n b oth sides. Dr. Garz a-Vale said tha t he te sted Barrios's
re flex es, w hic h "bas ic all y tes t[s ] t he s ame ner

v e not once but re all y three or four ti mes" for
sensa tion, mot or f unct ion, ref lex f unct ion, a nd for "an y sig ns tha t the nerve i s—is10

compress ed and y ou can'tstretc h that nerv e." Dr . G arz a- Val e s tated thatBar ri os' s reflex es
we re n o rm a l, wh ic h d id n o tco rr e la t e wit h B a rr io s ' s co m p la in t s o f n u m b n e s s , a n d t h e si ze of his ar m. O n re- directex aminat ion , D r. Gar z a- Val e s tated , There w as nothi ng thatin d ica te d a di sr upti on of the annul ar l ig ament. On the c ontrar

y , [ Bar ri os] had pai n onl y w hen he flex ed hi s n eck and not w hen he exte n d ed hi s n eck , w hic h i s j ustthe oppos it e of—of a ty pic al her nia ted disc sy ndro me
. T hey get pain g oing back, no t forw ard. . . . He had initially n o rm a l e xa m s t im e s two f ro m h is o wn t re a t in g d o c t o r. A n d t h e n su d d e n ly, all of a s udden h e now has an a bnor mal ex am. T h e d o ct o r li sts abnor mali ti es in cer

tai n musc le g ro ups, but doesn 'tsa y i f they 're r ig ht s ide or l e ft s i d e , d o e s n ' t s a y t o w h a t d e g re e
. W e n o r ma l l y s e e w e aknes s, for examp le f rom zero to f iv e. So if some one has w eakn ess, you say four [over] f iv e, th re e over five, tw o over five or z ero over five if the y can't m ove at all. But—buty ou sp ecif

y , and then y ou p ut do w n it's lef t side or ri gh ts id e. He jus t s ay s t here's weakne ss i n the m usc les blah, blah , blah, but doesn 'tsa y w here , w hich on es. Accordin g to Dr. Garz a-Vale , an an nula r tea r is recogniz ed b y neu rosurgeons a s a prop er d ia gn o sis; howev er, an a nnu lar tear can b e see n in an MRI and w ill typically
cor re lat e w it h appropr iat e c li nic al sy mptoms. D r. Gar za-V a le tes ti fied th at t he c li nic al picture must c or re lat e w it h the di ag nost icst udi es and t hat a doctor mustrev iew

them both. Dr . G arz a- Val e ex pla ine d: T h e re a s o n yo u lo o ka tb o t h is b e c a u s e t h e y s h o u ld co rr e la t e ve ry c lo s e ly. If y ou hav e an annul ar tear , the annul ar tear ty pic all y w il l be l aterali z ed to the left or to the r ig ht. And so the p ati ent s houl d hav e s y mptoms therefore t hat go t o t h e le f

tif t h e a n n u la r t e a r is o n t h e l e f t

. I f t h e re ' s c o m p re s s io n o f n e rve on th e l e ft , y o u s h o u l d t h e re fo re g e ts y mp t o ms o n t h e l e ft

. A n d the sy mptoms shoul d go in the appropr iat e locat ion , say C6 to the thumb, o r at lea st to t he bi ceps area. It maynot hav e to ra dia te al l the way to—to t he thumb, but i t s houl d hav e v er y sp eci fic c or re lat ion

. Dr. Garz a-Vale state d t h at he did notsee an ann ular tea r on the April 12 MRI stud ies performe d on Barrios. W hen a sked w hath e foun d abn orma l o n the June 1 MRI stud ies, Dr. Garz a-Vale state d, "No thing. Th ere's the tin ie s tl it t le bulge the re. I would admiti t j ustbul g es ev er so sli g htl y , but that's normal

. Mo st peopl e i f y ou l ook at t hei r MR Is
a n d lo o k h a rd en o u gh, you 're goin g to se e a bu lge

. . . . I t' s qu it e co m m o n to se e a b u lge
on nor mal asy mptomati c peopl e." Dr . Garz a- Val e s tated thathe woul d nothav e per formed surgery on the b ulge seen in the MRI. Dr . Garza-Vale opin ed th at a do ctor mu st be ab le to sep arate a norm al bulge f rom a path ologic abno rm a li t y . He stated , "T he d if feren ceO n cr oss- exam i nat i on, D r
. G ar z a- Val e ag r eed t hat som e annul art ear s w oul d not be seen on t he 11 M R I s t aken i n t hi s case because of t he q ual i t y of

t he i m age. 11 betw een t he two i s you need to see ner v e compress ion , nota t iny bul g e. If y ou g o after that, y ou mi g ht as w ell st art ope ra ti ng on e v er y body , j ustl ine them up." 11 Dr. Garz a-Vale ex plaine d the discogram proce dure as follows: A discogram is a stud y wh e re a n eed le is positione d into the disc, u sually wit h t h e p a t ie n tin

— in a su p in e p o s it io n
. So , in o t h e r wo rd s , h e ' s la yin g d o wn on a tabl e. And y ou're bas ic all y putt ing y our

hands here ( ind ic ati ng [) ], and mov ing the trachea and esoph ag us to on e s ide as y ou puta ne edl e on the o p p o s it e si d e
. Yo u ' re b a s ic a ll y t ryi n g t o ge tt h e e s o p h a gu s o u to f t h e wa y, so y ou're g oin g at an ang le. O nce y ou have lo ca lize d the needl e i n the appropr iat e pl ace or

di sc s t hat you w ant t o s tudy , y ou th en i nje ct them w it h an i odi ne c ontai nin g mater ial

. And the idea is to see if—i f the l ig aments , t he annul ar l ig aments thatw e s ay

co v er thatce ntral por

ti on of the dis c h av e a tear and produce a l eak. So y ou'l l see the d y e g o throug h the annul ar tear a n d typ ic a ll y go a ga in t o o n e si d e o r t h e o t h e r, b u tn o tce n t ra ll y.

. . . You som etim es can g et th e dye to trail w here yo u h a d t h e ne edle and so y ou'll—you'll g et dye to com e ou t, bu t its comin g ant erior (in d ica ting), this w ay, i nste ad o f

poste rior. The tears w e are loo king fo r are poste rior.

. . . Y ou're i nje cti ng an i odi ne- cont ain ing mater ial i nto t h e di scsp ace under press ure and then seei ng does the pati ent g et reproduct ion of sy mptoms, for ex ample, d o e s he g et reli ef of sy mptoms if y ou i nje ct an anes theti c t here, and do y ou getextrav asat ion of dy e w here the dye has come out throug h a tear suc h that itl aterali z es to t he r ig ht or to the l eft cons is tent w it h the cl ini cal sy mptoms, l eft ar m pai n, r ig ht ar m pai n.

. . . In a n o rm a l d iscogram . . . . [t]he —the liq uid w ould be con taine d just cent ra ll y
. It tends to g et ne ar the edg e how ev er , t he poster ior edg e. Dep endi ng on youra ge, i t tends to g et c los er and cl oser

to the p ost er ior edge be cause the an nulu s is thinneston the back w all. Dr . G a rza-V a le tes ti fied th at t he N orth A meri can Spi ne As soc iat ion st ated in it s jou rn a l t h a t i t d i d n o t re c o mm e n d c e r v i c a l d i s c o g ra ms s u c h a s t h e o n e p e r fo r me d on Barrios. Th at asso cia t io n only recom me nde d lum bar discogram s. But in eith er case, it
recom me nde d against a d iscogram if the pa tient h a d a n orma l MR I. Dr. Garz a-Vale
ex pla ine d:12

T he d if feren ce [be tw een a lumb ar discogram an d a cervi cal dis c o gr a m ] is that you real ly

don' t hav e a s pin al cord dow n i n the l ow er end of the s pin al cana l, so it's a lot safer t o do a [lum bar] discogram. If it leaks, it leaks. It's not g oin g —g oin g to har m the spi nal cord. There is no s pin al cord the re
. But in the n eck

y ou ha ve so m e v er

y i mport ant v enous st ru ctu re s t hat c an connect the d is c t o the v enous ci rc ula ti on of the cord, an d henc e, you c an g et t he dy e—i f y ou i nje ct ithard enoug h, you c an ge t it int o the co rd

. And w hen you do that, y ou damag e the co rd

. Dr . G arz a- Val e tes ti fied th at he woul d nev er hav e recommended a c er v ic al dis cog ra m for Barrios. Dr . G arz a- Val e bel iev ed the dis cog ra m has sev eral probl ems. Fi rs t, there are many false posi ti v e and neg ati v e resul ts; and theref o re , it is not a v er y reli abl e tes t. "The discogram is reliant up on, f irst of a ll, th e pa tienttelling you, y es, I feel pa in. W ell,
som etim es y ou have a pat ient say ouch at every lev el. Som etim es he 'll say , w ell, I don 't feel an ything. So it just—th ere's too mu ch v ariability and too little reprod ucibility to m ake ita t ru ly obj ect iv e ex aminat ion ." Next, ty pic all y , as peopl e ag e, di sc s b ecome more porous and leak, an d t h a t leak, acco rding to Dr. Garza-Vale, m ean s noth ing. According to Dr

. G a rza -V a le , a Ma rc a in e Ch a ll e n ge m a y b e p e rfo rm e d t o i n c re a s e a d is c o gra m ' s re li a b il it y. It is a l ocal anes theti c t hat is used, f irst of all , to determi ne i f the pat ien t s ay s, oh, that reproduce d my sy mptoms w hen y ou i nje ct [the dy e] an d putpress ure on that annul us by

pus hin g on t hat s y ri ng e. Y ou th en ta ke t h a t s y ri ng e out , chan ge it and put in Marcaine , w hich is a local ane sthe tic, and shou ld reduce the p ain from t he annu lar te a r whe n y ou i nje ct the a nest heti c. And the pati ent wo u ld s a y, mypai n i s g one; I feel much b etter

. It' s a co nfir mati on that that is an a bnor mal dis c a nd t hat i t i s t he appropr iat e l ocat ion of the source of that p erson' s p ain

. Dr . Garz a- Val e opined that if the pati ent c onti nues to c omplai n of pai n, t hen t he pai n i s n ot in that loc ati on, t he pai n i s from anoth er so urce, or

i t i s p sy chog eni c. T h e factthata Ma rc ain e c hal len g e w as not perfor med w hen Ba rr ios had hisdi sc og ra m caus ed D r. Gar z aVal e to bel iev e tha t t he di sc og ra m's reli abi li ty and obj ect iv ity

w ere reduce d. Dr

. Gar z a- Val e tes ti fied that he did not see any ev ide nce of an annul ar tear on t he CT scan performe d on Barrios af ter the discogram. Dr. Garz a-Vale state d, "W hatI see is the dy e comes cl ose in cont actor is cent ra l w here the annul us is the thi nnest

. And s o y ouG ol den Eagl e Archer y, I nc. v. Jackson , 11 6 S

. W

. 3d 75 7, 77 5 (T ex
. 20 03 ). 12
M onr oe v. G r ider , 88 4 S

. W

. 2d 81 1, 82 0 (T ex
. A pp
. –D al l as 19 94 , w ri t de ni ed ). 13
Pool v. Ford Mot or

C o. , 71 5 S

. W

. 2d 62 9, 63 5 (T ex
. 19 86 ). 14 13 see a little knuckle o f

dy e go ri ght up to th e ed ge centrally . . . . [Y]ou can see a little knuc kl e of dy e g o r ight up to t he edg e and sta y there. It doesn 'tco me out, so i ts not extruded ." Accordin g to Dr. Ga rz a-Vale , the CT sca n showed a norm al ann ular bulge just
as the MR I had show n and the dy e w as not comin g throug h the lig ament, but "s tay ing r ig ht at t he edg e of the lig ament." W hen as ked if there w as anythi ng on t he C T sc an th at sug g est ed th at B ar ri os had an annul ar tear , D r. Gar

z a- Val e repl ied , "N othi ng ." Dr . G arz aVal e als o sta ted that the firs t MR I and sec ond MR Is, and the dis cog ra m all l ooked nor mal to h i m. III
. S TA NDA RD OF R E V I E W A ND A PPLI C A B LE L AW In co n sid e ring the fact ual su ff ic ien cy of the e v ide nce w here as here, "on ly one cate gory of dam ages is challenged o n the basis that the award in tha t cate gory w as z ero
or w as too low , a court sho uld con sider only w het her the ev iden ce un ique to tha t cate gory is so against the g reat weig ht an d prep ond eran ce of the evidence as to be man ifest ly unju st, sho ck t he conscie nce, o r clea rly d em onst rate bias." W e revi ew the entire record 12 and c onsi der

ev ide nce both favo ra ble and cont ra ry to the v erdict to determi ne w hether the j u r y ' s n e g a t i v e fi n d i n g i s a g a i n s tt h e g re a tw e i g h ta n d p re p o n d e ra n c e o f t h e ev ide nce. 13 T o reverse a judgmen t due to factu ally insuf f icient evidence , w e mu st detai l the e v ide nce re lev ant t o the i ss ue in consi derati on and cl ear ly st ate w hy the jur y 's f ind ing is fact ual ly

insuffici ent or is so agai nstthe g re at weig ht and preponderance as to be mani festl y unj ust ; w hy

i t s hock s t he c onsc ien ce; or clearly dem onst rates bias. Furthe r, [w e], in [ou r] opin ions, should state in w hatregard the co ntrary evidence greatly outw eighs the evidence in suppo rt of the v erdict.[ ] 14 IV. D I S CUS S I ON Barrios cont end s the jury's f inding of z ero da ma ges fo r pain an d suf fering is against the g re at w eig ht and preponderance of t he ev ide nce. Ba rr ios arg ues that the j ur y w as notO ut si de t he p res en c e oft he j ur y , at a char ge co nf er ence wi t h t he t r i al cour t , Bar r i os' s coun sel 15 s ta ted , " T he pl ai nti ff i s no t go i ng t o s ub m i t a s ep ara t e o r any qu es t i on w i t h reg ard t o t he fi rst ac c i d e n t." Q u e s tio n n u m b e r o n e in th e c h a r g e a s k e d , "D id th e n e g lig e n c e a s d e f in e d a b o v e u n d e r th e J o n e s A c t, ifa n y, oft hose nam ed b el ow cause t he i nci dent of M ar ch 20 05?" T he j ur y was i nst r uct ed t o de t er m i ne t he a m ount ofdam ages i fi t " answer ed Q uest i on No. 1

. . . ' Yes' fo r K i ng F i sherM ar i ne, L. P. " Speci f i cal l y , t he j ur y was a s k e d to a w a r d d a m a g e s , ifa n y, f o r p a s t a n d f u tu r e p a in a n d m e n ta l a n g u is h

. W e n o te th a t t h r o u g h o u t h is b rie f, a p p e l l a n t re fe rs to th e d a m a g e s h e c o m p l a i n s o f a s "p a i n a n d s u ff e rin g ." 14 "free t o di sreg ard pai n and sufferin g " bec ause th e re was ev ide nce that he s ust ain ed
o bje ct ive in ju rie s o f

a f ra ct u re d w ris t an d " se vere an n u la r te a rs t o a ce rvica l d isc ." Alt h o u gh Bar ri os poi nts to ev ide nce that he fractured hi s w ri st, the jur y w as not a sk ed to dete rmi ne damag es based on t hat i nci dent and w as onl y as ked to deter mine w hether he s ust ain ed d a m a ge s f ro m t h e Ma rc h 1 1 in c id e n twh e re in h e a ll e ge d ly s u s t a in e d t h e n e c kin ju ry. 15 Bar ri os all eg es that th e ev ide nce, i ncl udi ng hi s medi cal records, su bst anti ate a n obje ctiv e injury. Dr. Pech ero and Dr. Garza-Vale bot h relied on Barrios's description of his sy mptoms, two MRI st u d ies, a di sc og ra m, and a C T sc an to formul ate t hei r opi nio ns
re ga rd in g B a rr io s ' s in ju ry. T h e f irst MRI taken on Ap ril 12 was norma l, according to Dr. Garz a-Vale . Dr

. Pech ero tes ti fied that the d oct or w ho per formed th e M RI repor

ted t hat i t was a "[n] or mal MR I of the cer

v ic al spi ne." Dr . Pechero acknow led g ed that the Apri l 12 MR I di d notsh ow a bulg e or anyother abnor mali ty . Alt houg h D r. Pec hero found a b ulg e on the J une 1 MR I, he a greed thatit w as po ssible tha t the bulge could h ave occurred be fore or af ter the March 10 i nci dent. D r. Pec hero s tated that he based his opi nio n on w hen t he i nju ry oc cur re d on th e in fo rm a ti o n pro vide d by Ba rrio s. Dr. G a rza-V a le ad m it te d th a t t h e re w a s a sm a ll b u lge
v is ibl e on the June 1 MRI , buthe a ss erted t hat i t w as nor mal to s ee th ose ty pes of bulg es on MRIs, even in asympto ma tic indiv idua ls. Dr

. Gar z a- Val e opi ned that one w oul d see an annul ar tear in an MR I. Howev er , no
ev ide nce w as present ed th at th e annul ar tear co uld be o bser

v ed on the M RI s t aken of Bar ri os' s n eck

. Dr . Pe chero tes ti fied th at he co uld not "tel l" w hether Bar ri os had an annul ar tear from the June 1 MR I and as sta ted abov e, found that the Apri l MR I w as nor mal. W hen ask ed w hether

the bul g e he obser

v ed on the J une 1 M RI w as w hat l ed hi m to o rd er theD r
. Pe c h e r o t e s t i f i e d t h a t t h e i n t r a d i s c a l d y s f u n c t i o n c o u l d n o t b e o b s e r v e d o n t h e C T scan and 16 usual l y i s v i si bl e on M R I s; howev er , no ev i dence was pr esent ed t hat t he M R I s t aken showed a n i nt r adi scal dy sf unct i on.

B a r r io s 's m o th e r , f a th e r , a n d w if e e a c h te s tif i e d t h a t B a r r io s w a s s till e x p e r ie n c in g p a in a fte r h is 17 n e c k s u r g e r y.

W e n o te th a t o n d ir e c t e x a m in a tio n , B a r r io s d id n o t d e s c r ib e th e p a in h e h a s e x p e r ie n c e d a s a r e s u lt 18 oft he a l l eged i nj ur y
. T he o nl y r ef er ence t o pai n m ade by Bar r i os i s when he st at ed t hat he was hur t i ng a ft er t he f al l beca use h e hi t hi s hea d, ar m , shou l der , and ent i r e l eft si de. 15 dis cog ra m, Dr

. Pech ero re spond ed, "I thi nk it w as more the persi ste nt pai n that he had that ki nd of l ed me t o c onti nue t o w or k him up to see w hat w as rea ll y causi ng his dis comfort ." Dr . Pe chero bel iev ed that he woul d hav e per formed th e di sc og ra m base d on the c li nic al findi ng s a lon e, ev en i f he had no t s een t he bul g e on the M RI

. Bar ri os ass erts that the dis cog ra m confir med that he had an annul ar tear and that it prov ide d obj ect iv e re sul ts that "coul d not be faked by subj ect iv e compl ain ts of pa in ." Howev er , D r. Pec hero ag re ed th at w hen per forming a dis cog ra m, the doctor rel ies on t he pati ent' s c omplai nts of pai n and that the doct or w ho per formed th e di sc og ra m on Ba rr ios
re li ed s ole ly

on B ar ri os' s s tatement s t hat he feltpain in a par ti cul ar area after

the inj ect ion

. Dr

. Gar z a- Val e tes ti fied th at t he di sc og ra m ishi g hly unreli abl e bec ause the t esti s b ased on what a pa tienttells the phy sician regarding the pain he is experiencing; the refore, it is nota truly o bje ctiv e examina tion. Dr . Garza-Vale opin ed th at be cause a discogram is based on s ubj ect iv e compl ain ts of pa in and is unreli abl e, doct ors c an per form a M arcai ne Cha ll eng e or

press ure tes ti ng to confir m the pati ent' s c omplai nts of pain

. How ev er , no
suc h tes ti n g was p e rfo rmed to c onfir m Bar ri os' s c omplai nts thathe fel t pai n dur ing the di s c og ram
. Dr . Pech ero s tated thatthe CT s can w as the first obj ect iv e di ag nost ictes t t hat subst ant iated Barrios's com plaint s of pain due to an a nnu lar tear—a te st Dr. Garz a-Vale tes ti fied c ontai ned no ev ide nce of an annul ar tear

. Al thoug h D r. Pec hero s tated thatthe 16 CT s can w as obj ect iv e ev ide nce of the annu lar t e a r, D r. Gar

z a- Val e di sput ed th at
conc lus ion

. The remaini ng ev ide nce of Barr ios 's pai n w as of a subj ect iv e nat ure. 17 Bar ri os arg ues th a t he "tes ti fied di re ctl y as to the p ain he h ad ex per ien ced" and 18L a m b v . F r a n k lin , 97 6 S

. W

. 2d 33 9, 34 1 (T ex
. A pp
. –A m ari l l o 1 99 8, no pe t

. ). 19
L a n c o n v . S ta te , 25 3 S

. W

. 3d 69 9, 70 6 (T ex
. C ri m
. A pp
. 20 08 ). 20 See W alker

v. R i cks , 101 S. W

. 3d 7 40, 748 ( T ex. App. –C or pus C hr i st i , 2003, no pet

. ) ( pr ov i di ng t hat 21 a ju ry m a y "d i s b e l i e v e a w i tn e s s , i n c l u d i n g a p h y s i c i a n , e v e n th o u g h h i s te s ti m o n y i s n o t c o n tra d i c te d "); W a ltr ip v. Bi lbon C or p. , 38 S. W

. 3d 8 73, 882 ( T ex. App. –Beaum ont 200 1, pet

. deni ed) (" T he j udgm ent s and i nf er ences ofexpe r t s orski l l ed wi t nesses, ev en when uncont r ov er t ed, ar e not concl usi v e on t he j ur y ort r i erof f act , unl ess t he su bj ect i s one f orexpe r t s orski l l ed wi t nesses al one, w her e t he j ur y or cour t cannot pr oper l y be assum ed to h a v e o r b e a b le to f o r m c o r r e c t o p in io n s o ft h e iro w n b a s e d u p o n e v id e n c e a s a w h o le a n d a id e d b y th e ir own expe r i ence and k nowl edge of t he subj ect of i nqui r y
. W e bel i ev e t hat t he p r esence orabse nce o fpai n, b a s e d o n th e s u b je c ti v e c o m p l a i n ts o f a n i n d i v i d u a l , i s n o t a s u b je c t fo r e x p e rts o r s k i l l e d w i tn e s s e s a l o n e .") (i nterna l ci t ati on s om i t t ed ).

S ee W alk er , 101 S. W

. 3d a t 750

. 22 16 the fact that the surg er

y re li ev ed his compl ain ts of pain bol ste rs the ex is tenc e of an ann ula r tea r. H owev er, Dr. Garz a-Vale testif ied th at Ba rrios was "p uttin g on sympto ms th at [were not] there." In ad dit ion , D r. G a rz a- Val e s tated thatthe cl ini cal sy mptoms that Bar ri os desc ri bed di d notco rrela te w it h an annul ar tear

. Dr . Pe chero tes ti fied t h a t a fte r the
surg er y , Ba rrio s' s n e ckpai n w as g one and Bar ri os felt "g ood." D r. Pec hero s tated that
neurolo g ic all y , Ba rr ios 's "ar m [w as] bac k" a nd hi s wea knes s a nd numbnes s were g one. How ever, Barrios testif ied on cross-ex am inatio n tha t he feels "b ad" and w hen asked if Dr. Pech ero w as "w ro ng " w hen he sta ted B ar ri os w as "pai n free, " Bar ri os re pli ed, "Y es. " "T o up hold a jury 's fin ding thatan injured party incurred no dam ages for past p ain and suf fering, the jury mu st have foun d by a prep ond eran ce of the evidence thatno pa in and s uffer ing ac compani ed th e i nju ry ." The ju ry i s t he s ole j udg e of the credi bil ity of the 19
w itnesse s and the weig ht to be giv en th eir testim ony; therefore, " an a ppe llate cou rt must g iv e defere nce to a jur

y 's decis ion reg ardin g w hat w eig ht to g iv e c ontradi cto ry tes ti monial
ev ide nce becau se the d eci si o n i s m o st li kel y bas ed on an ev alu ati on of credi bil ity and demeanor , w hich t he j ur y i s i n the bett er

pos it ion to jud g e." H ere, t he j ur y w as free t o 20 bel iev e or

di sbel iev e Bar ri os' s s ubj ect iv e c omplai nts of pai n as w ell as the t est imony of any other w it ness , inc lud ing D r. Pec hero—w ho, i n thi s c ase, pr imar il y reli ed on w hat B ar ri os tol d hi m. W e acce p t a n d w il l not i nter fere w it h the j ur

y 's resol uti on of any

co nflicts or 21 inc onsi ste nci es in the e v ide nce in deter mini ng the suffici ency of the e v ide nce. 22 A jur y f ind ing that the plain ti ff

su ffered no pastpai n and sufferin g i s a g ain st the g re atM onr oe , 884 S. W

. 2d a t 820 ( c i t i ng H am m et t v. Zim m er

m an , 804 S. W

. 2d 6 63, 664

- 65 ( T ex. 23 A pp
. –F ort W ort h 1 99 1, no w ri t ))

.

Se e G o l d e n Ea g l e Ar cher y, I nc. , 1 1 6 S .W .3 d a t 7 7 5 (e x p la in in g a n d a p p r o v in g th e c o u r t's 24 concl usi on i n M onr

oe t hat t he "j ur y coul d no t i gnor e un cont r ov er t ed ev i dence ofi nj ur y i n de ny i ng r ecov er y f or p a s t p h y s i c a l p a i n "); see a lso Lu na v. Tor res , N o. 13- 07- 00471

- C V, 2009 T ex. App. LEX I S 6972, at * 12 ( T ex. App. –C or pus Chr i st i Aug. 31, 200 9, no pet

. ) ( m em
. op. ) ( " A j ur y m ay awar d ' z er o dam ages' when t he i nj ur i es s u s ta i n e d a re s u b je c ti v e i n n a tu re o r th e re i s b o th s u b je c ti v e a n d o b je c ti v e e v i d e n c e o f d a m a g e s ."); Biggs v. G SC Ent er

s. , I nc. , 8 S .W .3 d 7 6 5 , 7 6 8 -6 9 ( T e x . A p p .– F o rt W o rth 1 9 9 9 , n o p e t.) (s ta ti n g th a t "[ a ]p p e l l a te c o u rts ar e r el uct ant t o ov er t ur n j ur y f i ndi ngs o fno dam ages f orpai n an d suff er i ng when t he i ndi ci a of i nj ur y and da m ag es are m ore su bjec t i ve t ha n o bjec t i ve").

See Monroe , 884 S. W

. 2d a t 820

. 25 17 a n d p re p o n d e ra n c e o f

t h e e vid e n c e wh e n t h e re is u n c o n t ro ve rt e d e vid e n c e o f a n o bje c t ive inj ur y
. H ow ev er , in th is case, e v ide nce that Bar ri os suffered an obj ect iv e i nju ry —an 23 annul a r tear

—w as cont ro v erted b y D r. Gar z a- Val e's tes ti mony

thatthe CT s can w as
norm al, an d the rema ining ev iden ce of Barrios's dam ages for p hysical pain w ere en tirely subje ctiv e—th at is, base d on Barrio s ' s c o mp laints of pain to Dr. Pech ero an d oth ers. 24 T here fore, after rev iew ing a ll of the evidence , w e can notconclud e tha t the ev iden ce suppo rt ing the jur

y 's findi ng of z ero damag es for phy si cal pai n is ag ain st the g re at weig ht and preponderance of the ev ide nce. W e ov er ru le Bar ri os' s s ole i ss ue. 25 IV. C ONCL US I ON W e affi r m.

LINDA REYNA Y AÑEZ, J u s t i c e Del iv ered and filed the 27th day of Ma y , 201 0.