Opinion ID: 1059434
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Aggravation of a Preexisting Condition

Text: Radvany also claims that there was no evidence to support a jury instruction on the aggravation of a preexisting condition and that the trial court erred in giving that instruction. Again, we disagree with Radvany. Davis testified that she experienced pain in her right shoulder approximately three months after the accident and that she did not recall having any pain or problems with her shoulder prior to that time. Her treating physician, Dr. Mark E. deBlois, testified that Davis' rotator cuff was injured, that the accident caused the tear in Davis' rotator cuff, and that the injury required surgery. Dr. deBlois also testified that Davis had a bone spur on her shoulder joint, which he described as a calcium growth associated with degenerative changes in the shoulder joint. Radvany's expert witness, Dr. John Meyers, disagreed, asserting that the injury was the result of degenerative changes that would have occurred regardless of the accident. Meyers also testified that 75% of people Davis' age have rotator cuff tears and that many of such conditions are asymptomatic. In response to a question by Davis' counsel, Meyers stated that the tear in Davis' rotator cuff may have developed prior to the accident. Both experts testified that Davis had a condition which could have pre-dated the accident, a degenerative shoulder joint and a rotator cuff tear. Dr. Meyers' testimony supported the inference that the torn rotator cuff could have been asymptomatic prior to the accident. Davis testified she had no shoulder pain until after the accident. This evidence was more than a scintilla and thus was sufficient to support a jury instruction on the aggravation of a preexisting condition. Rosen v. Greifenberger, 257 Va. 373, 380, 513 S.E.2d 861, 865 (1999). For these reasons, we will affirm the judgment of the trial court. Affirmed.