Court Opinion

ID: 9523895
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:48:13.101483+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:08:32.674305
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE MILLER, concurring in part and dissenting in part: I agree with the majority’s holdings that defendant Howmedica, Inc., waived its preemption defense and, further, that there was sufficient evidence to find Howmedica strictly liable for the plaintiffs injuries. I do not agree, however, with the majority’s conclusion that the amount of damages awarded in this case is supported by the record. In closing argument, plaintiffs counsel requested a damage award ranging between $1.6 million and $1.8 million, divided among the following: $200,000 for past and future medical expenses, $400,000 for past and future lost wages, $500,000 to $600,000 for pain and suffering, and $500,000 to $600,000 for disability and disfigurement. The trial judge apparently agreed with counsel’s itemization, for, in a bench proceeding without a jury, the judge awarded nearly $1,690,000 in damages, a sum that approximates plaintiffs request. I believe that the amount of damages awarded by the trial judge is against the manifest weight of the evidence. In upholding the present award, the appellate court concluded, from the testimony of the plaintiffs own doctor, that the plaintiff might have lost seven years of employment as a consequence of the premature failure of the prosthesis at issue here. The plaintiff earned approximately $25,000 a year from his employment as a truck driver and laborer, so the amount of lost income according to his best estimate, even without discounting it to present value, would have been about $175,000, far less than the $400,000 urged by counsel. An award of $200,000" for past and future medical expenses similarly lacks support in the record. The estimated expenses of a revision surgery are about $30,000. Although the premature failure of the plaintiff’s prosthesis could necessitate earlier replacements in future years, a sum as large as $200,000 for medical expenses is at best speculative under the facts in this case. Finally, one must question an award totaling more than $1 million for pain and suffering and disability and disfigurement. Plaintiff is entitled to be compensated only for the injuries attributable to the premature failure of the prosthesis involved here. Even if one allows that the failure of the device would accelerate the normal replacement schedule, I fail to see how the pain and discomfort, or disability and disfigurement, from the added procedures caused by that can justify an award of more than $1 million, the amount apparently determined here. For these reasons, I believe that the award of damages in this case is not supported by the record, and I would remand the action to the circuit court for further proceedings on this issue.