Opinion ID: 1753406
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Other Jury Verdicts

Text: Little Rock Healthcare next argues that the jury's verdicts in its favor for the Estate's other causes of action (medical malpractice and wrongful death) exonerate it from any wrongdoing. For this reason, it contends that the circuit court erred in denying its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict for violation of the resident's-rights statute. It further contends that there is no evidence, separate and apart from that which formed the basis of the Estate's other causes of action, that proved a violation of Ms. Smith's rights as a resident. When it compares the jury's instructions for the various causes of action, Little Rock Healthcare concludes that because the jury was instructed that any element of damage considered by it in answering one special interrogatory should not be considered in answering any other interrogatory, the amount awarded for violation of Ms. Smith's resident's rights must be for elements not included in any of the other causes of action. It claims that the only element not so included was the right to be treated courteously and that there was no evidence of any uncourteous treatment. It finally asserts that there is no evidence that Ms. Smith suffered actual damages as a result of any wrongful conduct that was not incorporated in the jury instructions for the Estate's causes of action for ordinary negligence and medical malpractice. It maintains that based on the circuit court's instructions, the jury was required to consider all of Ms. Smith's physical injuries when determining liability for the Estate's claims of ordinary negligence and medical malpractice. It urges that actual damages under the resident's-rights statute do not include compensation for mental suffering without a physical injury. This court recently clarified the appellate standard of review for the denial of a motion for directed verdict or a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict: A trial court is to evaluate a motion for directed verdict or a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict by deciding whether the evidence is sufficient for the case to be submitted to the jury; that is, whether the case constitutes a prima facie case for relief. In making that evaluation, the trial court does not weigh the evidence; rather, the trial court is to view the evidence in a light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. . . . On appeal from the denial of any of these motions, the appellate court affirms the verdict if it is supported by substantial evidence. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Tucker, 353 Ark. 730, 739, 120 S.W.3d 61, 66-67 (2003) (internal citations omitted). We conclude that this point is governed by our recent decision in Koch v. Northport Health Servs. of Arkansas, 361 Ark. 192, 205 S.W.3d 754 (2005). In Koch , the appellant argued that the circuit court erred in entering judgment for the defense on an ordinary-negligence claim based on the jury's rejection of the appellant's resident's-rights claim. The appellant contended that the circuit court could not apply the answers from the resident's-rights interrogatory to the ordinary-negligence claim, because the two claims were separate claims. This court agreed and reversed and remanded the matter for further proceedings. In reaching that conclusion, we relied on previous case law and said: It does not follow, however, that because two separate and distinct causes of action are tried by the same jury that the finding of facts in one cause is binding on the jury in the other cause of action if there is a dispute in the testimony. Although there was evidence tending to show concurrent negligence on the part of Graham and appellee and no negligence on the part of deceased, yet there was evidence tending to show no negligence on the part of appellee, and the jury was at liberty to so find in the cause of action on behalf of appellant for the benefit of herself and son, as much so as if the two causes of action had been tried separately instead of together. Notwithstanding the causes of action may be tried together under the provisions of the statute, they are wholly independent of each other, and the finding of the jury in one is not binding upon the jury in the other if the facts are in dispute as they were in this case. Koch v. Northport Health Servs. of Arkansas, 361 Ark. at 202, 205 S.W.3d at 762 (quoting Leech v. Missouri Pac. R. Co., 189 Ark. 161, 71 S.W.2d 467 (1934)). In short, this court observed in Koch that there were two separate claims involved, one for ordinary negligence and the other a statutory claim, and the jury reached a different conclusion on the facts for the resident's-rights claim and the ordinary-negligence claim. We held that because the resident's-rights claim was a statutory claim separate and apart from the common-law claim of ordinary negligence, the jury was entitled to reach conflicting results in relation to those claims. For that reason, the circuit court erred in entering judgment for the defendant on the ordinary-negligence claim. The same holds true in the instant case and requires this court to reject the argument of Little Rock Healthcare on this issue. Merely because the jury found Little Rock Healthcare negligent and not liable for medical malpractice and wrongful death does not preclude a finding by the jury that it violated Ms. Smith's resident's rights. The common-law action for negligence was separate from the statutory claim and, based on the evidence presented to it, the jury was entitled to find as it did. As already indicated, Little Rock Healthcare further asserts that Ms. Smith suffered no actual damages in relation to the resident's-rights cause of action. It continues its assertion that because any physical injury was already considered by the jury in conjunction with the ordinary-negligence and medical-malpractice claims, there was no physical injury, and, therefore, no mental anguish suffered by Ms. Smith that would have resulted in actual damages. But, again, irrespective of whether the injuries suffered by Ms. Smith were considered in relation to the other claims, the resident's-rights claim was separate and distinct. Hence, consideration of the injuries resulting from the van accident, any weight loss, pressure sores, and contractures, as well as the other injuries testified to by the witnesses, such as the urinary tract infection, was proper when the jury was considering the Estate's resident's-rights claim. As a consequence, there were injuries upon which the jury could have found mental anguish, resulting in actual damages. There was clearly substantial evidence to support the jury's verdicts, and, thus, the circuit court did not err in denying the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict on this basis.