Opinion ID: 1936270
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Next to be considered, however, is instruction 17, which states, to the extent here material:

Text: In the previous instruction there was submitted for your consideration, in the event you should decide to award damages, the matter of future pain and suffering and permanent disability. In this connection you are instructed that your award of such damages, if any you find, should be limited to the present worth of the fair and reasonable amount of such loss. (Emphasis supplied). To the foregoing defendants objected:    for the inclusion therein of the words ` permanent disability', for the reason that it over-emphasizes; and for the further reason that there is no medical evidence here to support any claim of permanent disability. The doctor's evidence being clear and specific that there is no permanent injury and no future disability. And it is specifically requested that the terminology ` permanent disability ' be stricken. (Emphasis supplied). Without question the charge thus leveled at instruction 17 was specific and sufficed to alert trial court to the error asserted. Moreover, the record discloses that during trial of this case plaintiff's request to read into the record the life expectancy of Mrs. Carradus was denied by the court with this comment: I do not intend to instruct on life expectancy, nor on any permanent damages. Upon the record before us this observation appears to be correct. See Shuck v. Keefe, 205 Iowa 365, 370-371, 218 N.W. 31 (1928). Compare Morris v. LaBahn, 194 Iowa 377, 384-388, 189 N.W. 797 (1922). We are thus left to speculate as to whether the jury did or did not consider permanent disability in arriving at the general verdict returned for plaintiff. See State v. Faught, 254 Iowa 1124, 1133, 120 N.W.2d 426 (1963) and citations; Merch. T. & S. Co. v. Ry. Co., 170 Iowa 378, 396-397, 150 N.W. 720 (1915); 1 Reid's Branson Instructions to Juries, §§ 104, 138 (1960 Replacement, 3d ed.). As heretofore indicated, the evidence did not suffice to support an award of damages for permanent injury and plaintiff does not here contend otherwise. This means trial court, by instruction 17, erroneously submitted an issue previously found to have no evidential support. See Campbell v. Martin, 257 Iowa 1247, 1251, 136 N.W. 2d 508 (1965) and citations. Additionally, the controverted instruction was such as to likely confuse and mislead the jury. See Bauman v. City of Waverly, 164 N.W.2d 840, 846 (Iowa 1969). In light of the foregoing it cannot be said that under proper instructions the jury might have found plaintiff entitled to damages in an amount at variance with the award instantly made. See Farmers Sav. Bank v. Newton, 154 Iowa 49, 55, 134 N.W. 436 (1912). Submission of the aforesaid erroneous jury instruction leaves us no alternative but to reverse and remand this case for a new trial upon plaintiff's cause of action alone. In other words, as heretofore initially observed, no appeal was taken from the judgment on verdict for plaintiff Phillip E. Carradus and it must therefore stand as a verity.