Court Opinion

ID: 9635703
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 14:00:59.358417+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:19:30.986931
License: Public Domain

DUFFY, Justice
(concurring in part and dissenting in part) :
I agree with the Court’s opinion except the part thereof which affirms the judgment against plaintiff Marie P. Szewczyk. In my view there was plain error in the Superior Court’s disposition of her claim which, in justice, should be corrected by this Court. Compare McCloskey v. McKelvey, Del.Super., 4 Storey 107, 54 Del. 107, 174 A.2d 691 (1961).
The significant aspects of Mrs. Szewczyk’s claim are undisputed: she was a passenger in her husband’s car, any negligence on his part is not imputed to her and she is not charged with negligence of any kind. In a word, she is free of negligence but the drivers are not. On the contrary, it has been determined that the negligence of each driver proximately caused the accident: The Superior Court concluded as a matter of law that defendant was “negligent and that this negligence was a proximate cause of the accident” (a ruling not challenged on appeal); and *431the jury found plaintiff, John P. Szewczyk, guilty of contributory negligence.
On this state of affairs, the issue as to Mrs. Szewczyk’s claim is whether she sustained any injuries as a result of the accident. And as to these, it seems clear that Mrs. Szewczyk proved some injuries. Thus Dr. Robert Smith testified to the arm and face bruises, the swelling and the soreness referred to in the majority opinion (and which is undisputed). I agree that these may be minimal and that the more serious aspects of her claim are disputed. But she did produce evidence of permanent injury. Thus Dr. Theodore Strange, an orthopedic specialist, testified that in his opinion Mrs. Szewczyk “has a permanent problem there. . . . [T]he probability is that it will stay the same. By the same token, it could certainly become worse.”
In charging the jury the Trial Judge did not fairly identify Mrs. Szewczyk’s status as a passenger and the rules of law applicable to her claim. The jury was not told, for example, that her claim for personal injuries was independent of her husband’s, that negligence was not charged to her, that any negligence on her husband’s part was not imputed to her, that she was entitled to a verdict against defendant for any injuries she received which were proximately caused by his negligence — no matter what the verdict as to her husband’s claim. To the extent that such issue is determined against defendant, plaintiff is entitled to a monetary judgment. Cf. Di Gioia v. Schetrompf, Del.Super., 251 A.2d 569 (1969). I do not understand that Chavin v. Cope, Del.Supr., 243 A.2d 694 (1968), involving a claim for loss of consortium, holds otherwise.
The majority opinion states that the jury “determined that . . . [Mrs. Szewczyk] had sustained no compensable damages.” To be precise, the Foreman of the jury stated that “We also agree that his wife, Mrs. John Szewczyk, should not receive any compensation.” I agree that the Foreman’s statement may mean that Mrs. Szewczyk was not awarded compensation because her claim was based largely on subjective complaints. But we do not know that. At best, the verdict was ambiguous and, at worst, it was returned after the Trial Court failed to fairly explain to the jury its options and duties under the evidence.
4c
I would order a new trial as to Mrs. Szewczyk’s claim.