Opinion ID: 11894
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Frances Ponce

Text: Frances Ponce first reported soreness in her right shoulder in September 1990, and she eventually had arthroscopic surgery in October 1991. After surgery, she returned to work on the Whizard table. In June 1992, however, she again began to experience pain 8 As discussed in footnote 1, an earlier jury returned a verdict for Martha Ruiz, a former co-plaintiff whose case was tried prior to this one. After trial, the district court granted Excel's motion for judgment as a matter of law as to Ruiz. A panel of this Court reversed the district court's order and remanded that case back to the district court with instructions to enter judgment on the jury's verdict for Ruiz. Gutierrez v. Excel Corp., 78 F.3d 581 (5th Cir.1996) (table). Despite the factual similarities between the Ruiz case and this litigation, there are two significant differences that support our affirmance of the district court's order granting Excel judgment as a matter of law as to de la Cruz. First, Martha Ruiz suffered from trigger finger, an injury that is classified as a cumulative trauma disorder. Second, Ruiz presented testimony from Dr. Royce Lewis, one of her examining physicians, indicating that her injury was in fact caused by her use of the Whizard knife. in her right shoulder, and had corrective surgery in November 1992. Eventually, she returned to work on the Whizard table, but in October 1993, she was placed on medical layoff because of her medical restrictions. The medical records suggest that Ponce's injury may have been caused by her work with the Whizard knife. Before her first surgery, Ponce was diagnosed as having symptoms consistent with rotator cuff tendinitis or a possible incomplete tear of the rotator cuff in her right shoulder. After completing the surgery, Dr. Robert Carr diagnosed Ponce with having impingement syndrome with subacromial tendinitis, right shoulder. A few months after this surgery, Dr. Carr stated, There is some increased stress sensitivity probably caused by her work activities. Ponce, however, continued working at the Whizard table, and after again experiencing pain in her right shoulder, had surgery in November 1992, this time performed by Dr. Kim Foreman. The postoperative diagnosis regarding this surgery was AC [acromioclavicular] arthralgia with mild impingement of the right shoulder. Dr. Foreman noted that there was no tear in the rotator cuff. He commented that Ponce did not suffer from specific injury but that she had developed progressive pain doing repetitive work. Unlike de la Cruz, Ponce suffered from rotator cuff tendinitis, an injury that may be classified as a cumulative trauma disorder. In addition, the medical records suggest that her injury was probably caused from repetitive work. This evidence, along with the testimony showing that use of the Whizard knife involved exposure to a number of risk factors associated with cumulative trauma, is sufficient to allow a jury to infer causation. See Beeson, 835 S.W.2d at 698. We must therefore reverse the order granting Excel's motion for judgment as a matter of law. See Crosthwait, 992 F.2d at 528. Having determined that the district court erred in entering judgment in favor of Excel against Ponce, we conclude that the court committed no abuse of discretion by ordering a new trial. See Allied, 996 F.2d at 114-15 (reviewing new trial order for abuse of discretion). In its order granting a new trial, the district court stated that the jury's finding of proximate cause was contrary to the great weight and preponderance of the evidence admitted at trial, and that the evidence was insufficient to support the award of $275,000 in damages to Ponce. Upon review of the record, we are likewise unable to find any evidence supporting the damage award, and the evidence regarding causation is anything but substantial.9