Court Opinion

ID: 9730253
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 15:06:38.391107+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:05.244805
License: Public Domain

HOFFMAN, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. Silcox never disputed fault for the collision underlying Schuh's claim for damages in the present case. The trial proceeded on the issue of liability for damages. The evidence disclosed that at the time of the collision Schuh was examined. An x-ray of her right knee did not reveal any objective signs of injury. Schuh did not seek medical treatment for or make any complaint about injuries sustained in the collision until two years after the incident. In the interim, Schuh was involved in three more vehicular collisions, all of which involved contusions or pain in her right knee. Schuh denied ever complaining of pain caused by the subsequent accidents; however, medical records indicated otherwise.
At trial, Silcox maintained that, although he caused the collision in question, Schuh's injuries were not caused by the collision in which he was involved. The jury was instructed that Silcox caused the collision, but that Schuh carried the burden of demonstrating that her injuries were caused by the collision involving Sileox.
The jury returned a general verdict in favor of Silcox, which stated: "We, the Jury, find for the defendant Richard Silcox and against the plaintiff Irene Schuh." Schuh mistakenly interprets the verdict as a redetermination of fault for the collision. Based upon the evidence adduced at trial, the verdict reasonably indicated that Schuh failed to present adequate evidence that the injuries to her knee occurred in the eollision involving Silcox. Schuh appears to contend that a jury must return a verdict for damages once fault for a collision is established. Schuh bases her argument upon a flawed premise: admitted negligence for causing the collision ipso facto established a duty to compensate the non-negligent party absent proof of damages. While Silcox's negligence provided the opportunity for harm, Schuh was not relieved of the responsibility of proving damages resulting from the collision.
Counsel's statement in opening argument, viewed in context with the circumstances,1 logically meant only that Silcox caused the collision and that he was prepared to bear the burden of compensating Schuh if the evidence demonstrated harm to Schuh caused by his actions. Implicitly, the majority opinion relieves a plaintiff of the burden of establishing through probative evidence a nexus between the defendant's negligent conduct and the plaintiff's damages. An admission of negligence is not an admission of liability. Progressive Const. v. Ind. & Mich. Elec. (1989), Ind. App., 588 N.E.2d 1279, 1288-84. I would vote to affirm the judgment of the trial court.

. Schuh praeciped for and included in the record only the following portion of the opening statement by counsel which is included almost in its entirety in the majority opinion:
"... We're not saying that she received no injury in that accident, OK? We bumped her and we hit her in the back end, she went to the emergency room and she had an Xray of her knee and we hurt her knee on that day, and yes, she deserves compensation for that. I'm telling you your job is to go back and give her compensation for that. But that's what her injuries were, that's what the evidence will prove."
It appears that counsel was only outlining the evidence which would not constitute an admission. See Lystarcezyk, supra, 435 N.E.2d at 1014 (mere outline of evidence not an admission, if ambiguity or doubt exists then presumed that counsel did not intend admission).