Court Opinion

ID: 9693370
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 16:38:50.2408+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:19:45.590878
License: Public Domain

BECK, Judge,
concurring.
I concur in the result reached in the majority opinion and join generally in the discussion therein. I write separately, however, to clarify further the reasons for our holding. First, I agree that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence of appellant’s history of alcohol and drug abuse where appellant placed his life expectancy into issue with his claim of permanent injury. An additional basis for admission, however, and one I believe to be even more persuasive, is for impeachment purposes. Appellant testified that he had been in “excellent health” prior to the accident, when in fact he had had numerous hospital admissions for alcohol dependency, and a long history of drug use, including intravenous heroin, barbiturates, LSD and amphetamines. The trial court did not err in admitting evidence of this history to allow appellees to impeach appellant’s credibility.
Appellant also challenged the admissibility of his blood-alcohol content of .25% at the time of the accident. As the majority concludes, this evidence was admissible to show appellant’s own causal negligence as a pedestrian, where there was additional corroborating evidence of intoxication, including the smell of alcohol emanating from appellant at the scene, and his behavior in crossing the street. Appellees presented evidence that, at the time of the accident, appellant was crossing a major highway, in the middle of the block, in dark clothing at about midnight, against a traffic control signal, and that he “darted” in front of oncoming traffic. With these additional comments, I join the majority opinion.