Case Name: Mr. and Mrs. Hillard COVEY v. MARQUETTE CASUALTY COMPANY et al.
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1955-06-15
Citations: 84 So. 2d 217
Docket Number: No. 20464
Parties: Mr. and Mrs. Hillard COVEY v. MARQUETTE CASUALTY COMPANY et al.
Judges: 
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 84
Pages: 217–222

Head Matter:
Mr. and Mrs. Hillard COVEY v. MARQUETTE CASUALTY COMPANY et al.
No. 20464.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana. Orleans.
June 15, 1955.
On Rehearing Jan. 3, 1956.
Bernard J. Bagert, New Orleans, for plaintiffs and appellants.
James- J. Morrison, New Orleans, Rudolph R. Schoemann, New Orleans, and White & Bowes, Gretna, of counsel, for defendants and appellees.

Opinion:
McBRIDE, Judge.
This is one of the two consolidated cases which grew out of the automobile accident which occurred in the bridge circle in Jefferson Parish on November 16, 1952. The plaintiffs are Hillard M. Covey, the driver of one of the automobiles involved, and his wife, Mrs. Lettie Allen Covey, who was his guest passenger seated beside him in the automobile. Their suit, which is directed against Alfred J. Landry and Marquette Casualty Company, his insurer, was dismissed and they have appealed.
For the reasons stated in the opinion and decree this day handed down by us in the case of Jacobs v. Landry, La.App., 82 So.2d 481, Mr. and Mrs. Covey are entitled to recover their damages from Alfred J. Landry and Marquette Casualty Company, in solido.
At the outset we are constrained to say that Mr. and Mrs. Covey have greatly inflated their claims and have been guilty of making certain allegations which have absolutely no foundation.
Covey seeks recovery of $800 for medical expenses incurred in connection with his wife's injuries, $250 for the services of a maid allegedly employed while his wife was incapacitated, $280 for loss of his salary for two weeks, $409.44 for damages to his automobile, and $1,500 for personal injuries. He alleges he suffered extensive bruises, was shaken up, and experienced extreme shock and nervousness as a result of the injuries to his wife. Covey cannot recover for personal injuries as he was not injured in the collision between the two automobiles and he cannot recover for mental suffering because of injury to his wife. Brinkman v. St. Landry Cotton Oil Co., 118 La. 835, 43 So. 458; Sperier v. Ott, 116 La. 1087, 41 So. 323, 7 L.R.A.,N.S., 518; Hughes v. Gill, La.App., 41 So.2d 536; Seligman v. Holladay, La.App., 154 So. 481; Sherwood v. Ticheli, 10 La.App. 280, 120 So. 107; Alston v. Cooley, 5 La.App. 623; Barrere v. Schuber, 5 La.App. 67; Knox v. Allen, 4 La.App. 223.
Mrs. Covey seeks $24,750 for her physical injuries.
There is testimony from Mrs. Lozier, the cousin of Mrs. Covey who was a passenger in Covey's automobile, to the effect that after the accident all of those who had been riding in the automobile went to an establishment where they drank coffee, and this testimony was adduced by the defendants in an endeavor to show that no one had been injured in the accident. It may be that the party did partake of coffee after the accident happened, but Mrs. Lozier was handling the truth lightly when she testified that injuries had befallen no one.
On the evening of the accident Mrs Covey was taken to the Accident Room at Touro Infirmary where she was seen by Dr. Fisher, the same physician who treated Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs. She was admitted to said hospital on the same date and remained there two days when she deserted. She stated she was compelled to leave because of her husband's financial inability to pay a hospital bill. She was readmitted November 19 and remained in Touro Infirmary until November 25. On December 27, 1952, she again went to the hospital where she stayed until January 1, 1953, as a result of an aggravation of her injuries which she experienced while descending a stairway in her home.
We have not the slightest doubt that Mrs. Covey's three stays in the hospital were made necessary by the injuries she received in the accident. Dr. Louis J. Gehbauer, on behalf of Landry's insurer, examined Mrs. Covey on January 29, 1953, and in connection with the examination had occasion to check the hospital records. These show that when Mrs. Covey was first admitted to the infirmary the diagnosis was emotional disturbances, lumbosacral sprain, and multiple contusions. On the second admission she exhibited the same complaints. The X-rays showed some spasm of the muscles of the lumbar spine; the X-ray pictures of the abdomen were negative. The third admission to the hospital was occasioned as a result of severe pains in the back.
Dr. Fisher testified that in addition to the back injury which was of moderate severity, Mrs. Covey suffered shock and sustained multiple contusions, a sprain of the left ankle, and distended abdomen. He stated his patient was not free of back symptoms until about the middle of September, 1953; the distension of the abdomen was only a temporary condition; the shock was of a mental type and lasted for about twenty-four hours; the ankle sprain disappeared in three or four weeks. Dr. Fisher says he saw Mrs. Covey on sixty-five occasions in all.
Dr. Gehbauer, who examined Mrs. Covey on January 29, 1953, at the behest of Marquette Casualty Company, found that she had suffered mild multiple contusions, a lumbosacral sprain, a sprain of the ankle, and some emotional disturbances; the doctor thought her multitude of complaints suggested neurotic tendencies. He believed the period of disability from the back injury would not last more than a few days. Dr. Fisher testified that he treated Mrs. Covey's back until the middle of September 1953 and his testimony is not contradicted.
On October 7,1953, Dr. Edmund Connely, a neurologist, saw and examined Mrs. Covey and came to the conclusion that there was no evidence of organic nerve lesion or neurosis.
We feel sure that Mrs. Covey suffered no permanent injuries in the accident, and while the injuries were not of serious character, they were painful and effected her incapacity for a considerable period. Mrs. Covey and Dr. Fisher attributed certain emotional disturbances to the accident, but we believe these were due to other causes. Dr. Fisher conceded that the emotional upsets could just as well have been caused by an unhappy domestic life. The record shows that in November of 1953 Mrs. Covey filed suit for a separation from bed and board in the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in which she alleged that her husband had been continually guilty toward her of physical and mental cruelty.
Mrs. Covey is 48 years of age, and considering the nature of her injuries, the pain and discomfort, her hospitalization on three occasions and the incapacity for a time, we believe that an award to her of $2,000 would be adequate under the circumstances.
Hillard M. Covey is entitled to recover the sum of $250 which he alleged and proved was incurred for his wife's hospitalization; he is also entitled to recover $345 for Dr. Fisher's bills, $50 for drugs and medicines, and $409.44 for the damage inflicted on his automobile, or a total of $1,054.44.
Covey also claimed that because of his wife's incapacity he employed a maid for four months at a daily wage of $3 and for this he seeks $250. We are not satisfied with Covey's testimony that such expenditure was made, so we will disallow the claim therefor. Nor can Covey recover $280 for loss of salary for a two-week period. He claims he remained away from his work to take care of his wife. Of course there should be no recovery for this item as it seems to us that Covey should have made other arrangements to have his wife's welfare looked after.
For the reasons assigned, the judgment appealed from is reversed and it is now ordered, adjudged and decreed that there be judgment in favor of Hillard M. Covey for $1,054.44 and in favor of Mrs. Lettie Allen Covey for $2,000 against Alfred J. Landry and Marquette Casualty Company, in solido, with legal interest from judicial demand; it is further ordered, adjudged and decreed that the reconventional demand of Alfred J. Landry be dismissed; all costs are to be paid by the defendants.
Reversed.