Court Opinion

ID: 9645786
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 21:35:12.247707+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:31.619633
License: Public Domain

EAKIN, J.,
dissenting:
¶ 1 While the verdict equaled the medical bills and property damage ($4,218.44), it was nevertheless a general verdict. In my view, this distinguishes the Dougherty case sufficiently to sustain the otherwise appropriate result. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent from the thoughtful analysis of my colleagues.
¶ 2 This Court is repeatedly asked to review verdicts where a jury has allowed a plaintiff to recover medical expenses, but declined to award more where the injuries were minimal or potentially unrelated to the accident. This might be a misapprehension of their obligation - it might also be a compromise. It is not hard to imagine jurors divided, some ready to award all expenses plus pain and suffering, while others want to award nothing at all; a common compromise would award special damages but nothing more. Compromise verdicts are proper in most every other scenario one can imagine, yet we fail to allow compromise in this limited situation.
¶ 3 While the theory of Dougherty and the like is well-established law, it is nearly nonsensical to be obliged to hold a verdict of $4,218.44 invalid, when an award of a dollar more, or a dollar less, would have been beyond complaint. However, acknowledging this to be the law, trial courts should instruct the jury that if they find injury from the accident, (or award medical expenses), they must award something for pain and suffering on pain of having the verdict nullified. If not part of the original charge, they should be returned for further deliberations with appropriate instruction; it makes no sense to force an appeal, reversal and complete retrial.
¶ 4 This jury was not given this instruction. On retrial, such an instruction would seem to be in order.