Court Opinion

ID: 9664066
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 00:01:53.071458+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:01.799311
License: Public Domain

M. F. Cavanagh, J.
(dissenting). I agree with the majority’s evaluation that the defendant’s excessive damage claim is the only issue of merit. The amount of damages awarded here in a nonjury trial, however, shocks my judicial conscience and I cannot affirm the award.
Plaintiffs’ counsel has argued that where, as here, there is some 33 years of life expectancy, the amount of special damages is unimportant. I disagree. They should by no means control, but they are important. They provide the trier of fact and an appellate court with objective criteria upon which a fair and just award might be based. It is after a thorough review of these special damages and all the testimony that I conclude the judgment of the trial court should be reversed.
*512The court below described this accident as a "relatively simple” rear-end collision. Although liability was closely contested, the trial court found that defendant’s bus struck the rear of plaintiffs’ vehicle, causing some $600 in property damage. This amount of property damage cannot be termed inconsequential, but by the same token, can hardly be classified as extensive.
For the some five years intervening between the accident and the date of trial plaintiff Robert Precopio periodically was treated by his physician, incurring a bill for medical treatment in the amount of $535. He expended, at the rate of $8 to $10 per month, another $550 for medication during the same period. No hospitalization was ever required.
From the date of accident until the time of trial, Robert Precopio’s hourly wage rose in stages from $4.49 to $7.01. He claimed his injuries prevented him from working from October 3, 1972, to June 19, 1973, some eight months. He worked from June 19, 1973, to January 14, 1975, when he again missed eight more months of work. Thereafter, in 1976, he missed approximately three months, returned to work on October 22, 1976, and was working through the time of trial. Robert Precopio alleged all of the time missed was due to this accident and estimated some $31,400 in wages were lost.
Based upon the foregoing, the trial court awarded this plaintiff Robert Precopio the sum of $436,085. This was computed as follows:
*513Property Damage $ 650
Past Medical 535
Past Wage Loss 31,400
Future Wage Loss $ 20,000
Future Medications 8,500
61,085
Past and Future Pain and Suffering $375,000
$436,085
Based on this categorization of Robert Precopio’s award, it is apparent that at least part of the computation of the special damages is faulty. Despite Robert Precopio’s testimony that for five years he expended roughly $8 to $10 per month for medication and a total of $535 for medical treatment, he was only compensated for the cost of treatment. However, $8,500 was awarded for future medications. Therefore, if this latter amount represents the same yearly average cost of medications as was incurred in the five years prior to trial, then Robert Precopio would be assured of receiving these costs for the next 85 years. Even if the designated future medications award also includes the projected costs of medical treatment based on the pretrial average, he would still receive the same yearly averages for both categories for the succeeding 42-1/2 years. It has been pointed out that his life expectancy was only 33 years. But, more importantly, there was no evidence submitted to establish that his costs in these areas would remain constant in the future. On the contrary, his expert’s testimony suggested that these costs would decline.
I am not unaware of the lack of objective standards which would enable an appellate court to fix *514with accuracy the limits of excessiveness. It is for this very reason that such wide latitude is afforded the judgment of the trier of fact. We ought not to substitute our judgment for that of the factfinder unless, after we have reviewed the facts and criteria that are available, the amount of the award is grossly disproportionate to the evidence and shocks us. See Tuttle v Dep’t of State Highways, 397 Mich 44; 243 NW2d 244 (1976), Watrous v Conor, 266 Mich 397; 254 NW 143 (1934), Haidy v Szandzik, 46 Mich App 552; 208 NW2d 559 (1973).
Plaintiff Robert Precopio’s doctor diagnosed the accident-related injuries to plaintiff as an acute dorsal-cervical sprain with recurrent pain, as well as fibromyositis, inflammation of the muscle and fibrous tissue formation. The medical treatment that Robert Precopio received for the five years following the accident consisted of the periodic application of heat to the back of his neck accompanied by various medications to relax muscles and diminish pain. Robert Precopio’s doctor would not testify positively that the injuries were permanent; his most encouraging response for plaintiff Robert Precopio’s case in this regard was, "[p]erhaps”. As to whether there was permanent damage to Robert Precopio’s muscular tissue, his doctor stated: "At that time [of the accident] I think he had damage to his musculature. I think in time he will have healed up.” Accordingly, the doctor testified that he had indicated that Robert Precopio could return to work on June 19, 1973. And, the doctor further testified that a severe injury of the type which Robert Precopio complained of would affect a person’s reflexes; however, upon examination on the date of the accident, Robert Precopio’s reflexes were normal. It should also be noted that the trial court awarded no damages to *515plaintiff Vaughna Precopio for her loss of consortium claim. In light of these factors, I must conclude that the trial court’s award to plaintiff Robert Precopio was shockingly excessive. Compare the cases compiled in Anno: Excessiveness or adequacy of damages awarded to injured person for injuries to head or neck, 11 ALR3d 370, 590.
Moreover, there are additional facts which, while they are not determinative, may assist in the evaluation of the award. Plaintiff Robert Precopio’s pretrial settlement demand amounted to $35,000; and the figure sought by him at trial, as evidenced by his ad damnum clause, was $200,000, even though his counsel requested $1,750,000 in final argument. (It was some eight months after trial, following announcement of the trial court’s award, that Robert Precopio moved to amend his ad damnum clause upward.) A mediation board had also previously determined the damages to be$14,500. Haidy v Szandzik, supra, at 556. See Tomei v Bloom Associates, Inc, 75 Mich App 661; 255 NW2d 727 (1977).
For these reasons, I am persuaded the award below was excessive and clearly erroneous. I would reverse and remand for a new trial.