Court Opinion

ID: 9378475
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-03-10 17:03:17.950744+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:17:21.453270
License: Public Domain

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

AIKATERINI TSIOUPLI,                       )
                                           )
       Plaintiff,                          )
                                           )
              v.                           )
                                           )   C.A. No. N22C-04-057 CLS
KEVIN HENRY MCLAUGHLIN,                    )
JENNIFER V. MCLAUGHLIN, and                )
NEAL R. MCLAUGHLIN,                        )
                                           )
       Defendants.                         )
                                           )

                      Date Submitted: February 22, 2023
                        Date Decided: March 8, 2023

 Upon Plaintiff’s Motion in Limine Regarding Plaintiff’s Injuries and Damages.
                                   DENIED.

                                   ORDER

Vincent J.X. Hedrick, II, Esquire, Bove & Hedrick, Wilmington, Delaware, 19899,
Attorney for Plaintiff, Aikaterini Tsioupli.

Miranda D. Clifton, Esquire, Heckler & Frabizzio, Wilmington, Delaware, 19899,
Attorney for Defendants, Kevin Henry McLaughlin, Jennifer V. McLaughlin, and
Neal R. McLaughlin.

SCOTT, J.
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   On this 8th day of March 2023, upon consideration of Plaintiff Aikaterini

Tsioupli’s (“Ms. Tsioupli”) Motion in Limine Regarding Plaintiff’s Injuries and

Damages, and Defendants Kevin Henry McLaughlin, Jennifer V. McLaughlin, and

Neal R. McLaughlin’s (“Defendants”) response, it appears that:

   1. Ms. Tsioupli sustained injury as a result of a collision caused by Defendant

      Kevin McLaughlin. As a result of the accident, Ms. Tsioupli filed this suit and

      identified two expert medical witnesses, Dr. Demetrios Zerefos and Dr.

      Michael Brooks, to testify and provide reports on her behalf.

   2. Defendants identified Dr. Frank Sarlo as their medical expert, and Dr. Sarlo

      provided a defense medical evaluation report setting forth his opinions.

   3. Ms. Tsioupli asks this Court to preclude Defendants from introducing any

      evidence suggesting Ms. Tsioupli’s injuries are from any other cause, or that

      a jury should award no damages, or insinuate, either through documents,

      questions of witnesses or otherwise, that Ms. Tsioupli’s injuries and resulting

      damages were caused by anything other than this collision. Ms. Tsioupli

      believes the Court should grant this Motion because all experts establish that

      Ms. Tsioupli suffered injuries from the collision.

   4. Defendants argue they do not agree with Ms. Tsioupli’s representation that all

      experts agree as to the nature of Plaintiff’s injuries. Defendants note all

      experts agree Ms. Tsioupli had a pre-existing degeneration in her cervical and

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   lumbar areas of her spine, the areas she claims injury from this accident, and

   all experts noted a prior accident in 2014.

5. This Court agrees with Defendants. Defendants should and will be given an

   opportunity during the trial for testimony by an expert regarding the prior

   accident and its similarities to this current injury, and degenerative findings.

   The weight and credibility of the testimony is left to the jury to determine the

   cause of the injury. This Court shall not preclude expert testimony regarding

   the origin of injury or causation of injury.

6. Based on the foregoing reasons, the Plaintiff’s Motion in Limine Regarding

   Plaintiff’s Injuries and Damages is DENIED.

   IT IS SO ORDERED.

                                                  /s/ Calvin L. Scott
                                                  Judge Calvin L. Scott, Jr.

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