MURIEL SKELLY, APPELLANT,
v.
HARTFORD CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY AND PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEES
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Appellate court reversed a jury verdict that awarded only medical bills without compensation for pain and suffering or permanent disability, finding the award grossly inadequate as a matter of law and remanding for additur or new trial.
A jury verdict that awards only medical expenses while failing to compensate for proven pain and suffering and permanent partial disability is grossly inadequate and requires reversal and remand for additur or new trial.
[1] A jury verdict that awards only medical expenses while failing to award any damages for proven pain and suffering and permanent partial disability is grossly inadequate a…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMuriel Skelly was injured at a Publix Supermarket when a nine-pound bagholder fell on her right foot, causing an incomplete tear to her Achilles tendo…
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SMITH, CHARLES E., Associate Judge.
Muriel Skelly, the Plaintiff, sustained an injury at a Publix Supermarket when a nine-pound bagholder fell on the back of her right foot. This caused an incomplete tear to her Achilles tendon. Both the plaintiffs and the defendant’s medical experts testified that the plaintiff incurred a permanent partial disability as a result of this accident. The plaintiffs doctor’s opinion was that she suffered a ten-percent permanent disability to the right leg, and the defendant’s doctor’s opinion was that she sustained a two-percent permanent disability to her right leg or a one-half-percent disability to her overall body. The jury returned a verdict in the exact amount of her medical bills of $1,630.00. The jury failed to award any amount for pain and suffering and permanent disability. The trial court denied plaintiff’s Motion for New Trial. The indisputable evidence is that the Plaintiff suffered pain and a permanent partial disability from a demonstrable injury. The zero damage award for those items is grossly inadequate and a new trial is required. Stevens v. Mt. Vernon, 395 So. 2d 1206 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981).
The judgment is reversed and the cause is remanded for an additur or to permit the plaintiff to have the option of a new trial on damages only.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
GLICKSTEIN and HURLEY, JJ., concur.
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Itt Hartford Ins. Co. of the Se. v. Stiles Jerry Owens and Jean A. Owens, 816 So. 2d 572 (Fla. 2002)…ght of the evidence, it failed to preserve that issue for review). . The dissent appears to premise its view on the fact that, prior to enactment of the statute, cases in which additurs were approved were rare. See Skelly v. Hartford Cas. Ins. Co., 445 So. 2d 415, 415 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984) (indicating that the cause was to be remanded "for an additur or to permit the plaintiff to have the option of a new trial on damages only”); Nazco v. Lopez, 397 So. 2d 976 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981) (affirming final judgment for th…
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Beauvais v. Edell, 760 So. 2d 262 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)…njured plaintiff suffered at least some pain from the injury. See e.g., Watson v. Builders Square, Inc., 563 So. 2d 721 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990); Gonzalez v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 463 So. 2d 1229 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985); Skelly v. Hartford Cas. Ins. Co., 445 So. 2d 415 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984); Rodriguez v. Allgreen Corp., 242 So. 2d 741 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971); Pickel v. Rosen, 214 So. 2d 730 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968). Daigneault, 624 So. 2d at 819-20. In the cases cited in Daigneault, it appears that it was undisputed that th…1 / 2
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Gonzalez v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 463 So. 2d 1229 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985)…cted evidence that the plaintiff also suffered permanent disability, lost wages and pain and suffering. This court held the award grossly inadequate and legally inconsistent with the proof. More recently in Shelly v. Hartford Casualty Insurance Co., 445 So. 2d 415 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984), this court reversed and remanded for an additur or a new trial because the jury returned a verdict in the exact amount of the plaintiffs medical bills, notwithstanding clear evidence of pain and suffering and permanent disabilit…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Stevens v. Mount Vernon Fire Ins. Co. & Sayed George Deeb, 395 So. 2d 1206 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)