Opinion ID: 1890837
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Trial Court's Determination of Damage Issue.

Text: Allied and plaintiff both attack the trial court's determination of damages. Although plaintiff contends that the trial court erred in holding the jury's award of damages excessive, Allied further argues that the sum of $5,500, determined by the trial court to be a reasonable amount, is excessive. Under both contentions this court will not disturb  the trial court's determination unless we find an abuse of discretion. Lucas v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co. (1962), 17 Wis. (2d) 568, 571, 117 N. W. (2d) 660, and cases cited therein. A review of the evidence concerning damages is necessary in order to determine whether or not the trial court abused its discretion. A portion has already been set forth in discussing Dr. Montgomery's testimony concerning plaintiff's history of subjective symptoms and complaints as related by her. Plaintiff's injuries from the accident consisted of the following: Cuts on her head, face, arms, legs, and toes resulting from the shattering of the glass in the windshield; cuts in her mouth and ears from glass particles; bruises to both legs; a strained shoulder; and a two-inch-long dent (not a cut) in the fatty tissue of her left leg about six inches below the knee. Plaintiff testified that the blow from the crumpling car top rendered her momentarily unconscious. She seemed to have been conscious of bystanders at the scene of the accident. Plaintiff was immediately taken to a hospital where her cuts were cleansed and band-aids applied. None of the cuts required stitches. She was released from the hospital after two hours but went sleepless most of the night and was absent for three days from her teaching duties. The next day plaintiff consulted Dr. Northey, her personal physician. He testified that she was in a state of emotional shock and complained of severe headaches. He concluded that she had sustained a concussion. The dent in the left leg appeared to be the most-serious injury because her cuts were superficial. Dr. Northey saw the plaintiff for treatment on two other occasions, June 5 and August 8, 1956. All the cuts had healed by the latter date, but she was still in a nervous condition and her leg bothered her.  As mentioned above, plaintiff consulted Dr. Montgomery, and orthopedist, on four occasions in 1957, the first of these being the day after she sustained a whiplash injury on June 24, 1957. She also saw Dr. Montgomery on February 27 and May 29, 1958. The last time she saw Dr. Montgomery for treatment was on August 28, 1958, more than three years prior to trial. There is no history of her receiving other medical treatment during this period. In preparation for trial she again saw Dr. Montgomery and Dr. Schaeffer, a neurologist and psychiatrist. From time to time she has had headaches and pain in her left leg. Nevertheless, the headaches have become less frequent and at time of trial on October 24, 1961, plaintiff testified that they occurred about once every three or four months and that the last one occurred about June 20, 1961. The pain in the left leg generally occurs in damp weather and when she rises in the morning, but there is no loss of motion or any change in the contour or appearance of the leg. The dent in her leg is no longer visible, but the skin at that point is slightly hard to the touch because of some underlying scar tissue. In addition she has an anxiety complex about driving, or riding in, automobiles, but this has not been severe enough to prevent her engaging in frequent automobile trips for vacation and recreational purposes. Furthermore, part of this complex was caused by the two subsequent whiplash injuries sustained in rear-end automobile collisions. As previously mentioned, the first of these occurred on June 24, 1957. The other occurred during a vacation trip in California in December, 1959. We attach no great significance to her decision three years after the accident to temporarily discontinue full-time teaching and become a substitute teacher. Her efficiency as a teacher had not been seriously affected by the accident because she received several merit raises in salary after the accident. She married shortly after the accident and may well have decided,  after continuing to teach for three years, that it was no longer necessary that both she and her husband work. She mentioned, however, that she intended to resume full-time teaching after the trial. Although there was medical testimony that the headaches, occasional pain in the left leg, and anxiety complex are permanent, we deem significant the fact that for more than three years prior to trial plaintiff sought no medical treatment to alleviate them. The trial court in its memorandum opinion carefully analyzed the significant portions of the evidence bearing on damages and concluded the award of $9,950 was excessive. We find no abuse of discretion in this conclusion nor in its fixing $5,500 as a reasonable award for plaintiff's injuries in granting her the option to accept this amount in lieu of a new trial limited to damages. By the Court.  Judgment affirmed.