Opinion ID: 2195687
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Mrs. Ginn's nursing services

Text: In Count IV of the complaint, Lois Ginn, the wife of Charles R. Ginn, the party physically injured in the accident, sought to recover for her own consequential damages in the nature of loss of consortium and earnings. We take notice that the Court submitted to the jury, with the apparent suggestion of counsel for the plaintiffs and the defendant, written interrogatories pursuant to Rule 49(a), M.R.C. P. The interrogatory relating to the plaintiffs' damages and the answer thereto were worded in the unitary concept of a single amount for both parties plaintiff: (4) What do you find to be the total damages of Plaintiffs, Charles R. Ginn and Lois Ginn? four hundred fifty-eight thousand, six hundred eleven dollars and one cent.  The defendant raised no objection at trial to the form of the special verdict, nor does it complain specifically in this appeal about the blending of the husband's and the wife's recovery into one monetary assessment. The defendant, however, now assigns as error the Court's instruction to the jury concerning the plaintiffs' right to recover for the value of the nursing services rendered by Mrs. Ginn to her husband after the accident. The presiding Justice instructed the jury that Mrs. Ginn could recover in the alternative, either the value of her services as her husband's nurse or her loss of earnings, but not both. At side bar counsel for the plaintiffs pointed out to the Court in relation to the given charge: I was a little bit worried about this nursing service thing because they [the jury] should be told, I think, that he [meaning the plaintiff husband] is entitled to reasonable cost of nursing services as such, if such services are sought elsewhere other than his wife's, because all you talked about was his wife. To this attempt by the plaintiffs' counsel to have the charge clarified or corrected, the defendant's counsel replied: I think that was covered. It would appear that the plaintiffs' counsel was relying, for his stated suggestion, upon Britton v. Dube, 1958, 154 Me. 319, 147 A.2d 452 and Johnson v. Rhuda, 1960, 156 Me. 370, 164 A.2d 675. At any rate, in the posture in which the trial record presents this point on appeal, we decline to entertain it. Since counsel for the defendant did not raise an objection when there was opportunity to do so and in fact conveyed to the presiding Justice that, with respect to the subject matter under discussion, he was satisfied the instructions given were substantially and accurately stating the law, he cannot now complain. M. R.C.P., Rule 51(b); International Paper Co. v. State, Me., 1968, 248 A.2d 749, at 753-754. Furthermore, the suggested integrated special interrogatory on damages does indicate that this stated grievance is an afterthought in an area in which no injustice has resulted to the defendant by reason thereof.