Opinion ID: 1120518
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The question whether the damages were excessive.

Text: Plaintiff's injuries were severe. He fell 15 feet and landed on top of a concrete slab and was then struck by a 2½ ton concrete slab which also fell a distance of 15 feet. The plaintiff and two orthopedic surgeons testified to the severity of the injuries. The plaintiff suffered a multiple compound fracture of the left elbow requiring an open reduction and a severe fracture of the pelvis. He was hospitalized from March 10, 1956 to April 4, 1956 and remained on crutches for two months following his discharge from the hospital. The ulnar nerve in the injured elbow did not heal properly and an operation was required in July of 1956 to remove a tumor on the nerve. Since the operation shortened the nerve an inch and a quarter, the nerve had to be transferred from the back of the elbow to the front of the elbow. A second operation was required some time later to correct the first which had not been entirely successful. Both doctors predicted that traumatic arthritis would develop in the elbow as a result of the injury and would grow worse, one of them stating that the beginnings of this condition could already be noticed on x-rays. The left arm is permanently injured, the nerve damage resulting in the atrophying of certain muscles of the hand, loss of control of certain areas. The fractured pelvis has healed but with a still very marked distortion. The plaintiff has had continued pain in the back and legs, and his back injury will probably interfere somewhat with future heavy work. Plaintiff was 37 years old and had a life expectancy of 31.76 years. His income during the three years preceding the injury averaged $8,200. During these years he averaged $6,900 for work in Greenland. Because of his injury he was unable to report for work in Greenland when called and he was not called in 1957, selection being made first from employees of the prior years. His income in 1956 was $5,300 and in 1957, $6,300. One of the doctors rated plaintiff's disability as a working unit at 5 per cent, the other rated it at 15 per cent. In view of the foregoing outline of the evidence presented on the issue of damages, the nature of the plaintiff's occupation, the likelihood of increasing disability, the pain and suffering necessarily connected with the injuries and treatment he received, it is our conclusion that the trial court erred in setting aside the verdict on the ground that the damages were excessive. The test for determining whether an award of damages lies within valid limits has been set forth by this Court previously in Lehrer v. Lorenzen, 124 Colo. 17, 233 P.2d 382, 384, where the question of inadequacy of a verdict was involved. It was there said that a verdict will not be set aside unless it is grossly and manifestly inadequate. It was further stated in that opinion.    The amount of such loss was a question of fact peculiarly within the province of the jury, and if the trial judge was permitted to set aside the verdict simply because he would have fixed a different amount, then in cases of this nature, juries would be entirely unnecessary. Judging the evidence in this case in the light of the standard of the Lehrer case, we are constrained to hold that the trial court's action in holding the verdict was excessive was improper. 6. The question whether plaintiff was barred from a recovery on the theory that he was injured by a co-worker engaged in common employment and is therefore restricted to a remedy under the Workmen's Compensation Act. Defendant contends that plaintiff has no action against it because of having a remedy against his employer under the Workmen's Compensation Act. It says that having received benefits under that Act plaintiff has surrendered all common law remedies. C.R.S. '53 81-4-4. We read this section as applying only to remedies against the immediate employer. It does not operate to relieve a third person such as the defendant in this case. Section 81-13-8 expresses a legislative intent contrary to the argument of defendant. Under this section, the injured person may elect to proceed against a third person and the only limitation is that the third person shall not be in the same employ. In harmony with our conclusion that defendant was a contractor, we hold that Lewis was not in the same employ within this statute. The case of Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. v. Clifton, 117 Colo. 547, 190 P.2d 909, which held that the employee of a subcontractor, was precluded from suing a general contractor, was based upon Section 81-9-1 and is not authority for the present proposition. Larson on Workmen's Compensation, Vol. 2, Sec. 72.32 discusses this specific problem and points out that the great majority of courts hold that a subcontractor is subject to a suit. The Massachusetts cases cited and relied on by defendant represent a minority viewpoint. Florida also adheres to this rule. The purpose of the Workmen's Compensation Act is to provide a remedy in areas where remedies do not exist at common law. Where the provisions of the act do not expressly limit the employee with respect to other remedies we are not disposed to read or interpret such limitations into the Workmen's Compensation statutes. The possibility proposed by the defendant that the plaintiff here can get a double recovery is not a real threat. The Industrial Commission would be subrogated to the plaintiff against the defendant with respect to any sums which he recovers here which are in the nature of compensation. Cf. Jacobson v. Doan, 136 Colo. 496, 319 P.2d 975. The judgment is reversed and the cause is remanded with directions to reinstate the verdict and to enter judgment thereon. MOORE and KNAUSS, JJ., concurring.