Articles Posted in Automobile Accidents

Earlier this month, an appellate court affirmed a lower court’s denial of a request for punitive damages and actually sanctioned the plaintiffs for pushing for the damages despite no good-faith reason for doing so. The case illustrates that, while punitive damages may be appropriate in some cases, it is not wise to seek them in every case without a basis for doing so.

The Facts of Smizer v. Drey

In the case, Smizer v. Drey, the plaintiff was injured after being involved in an accident with the defendant. According to the court’s written opinion, the defendant failed to yield at an intersection and collided with the plaintiffs’ vehicle. After the collision, the plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the defendant, seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Regarding the punitive damages, the plaintiffs claimed that the defendant “engaged in extreme and outrageous conduct in operating her motor vehicle in conscious disregard of the traffic laws of this State.”

From the outset, the defendant admitted that she was at fault for failing to yield at the intersection, but she contested the plaintiffs’ request for punitive damages. The defendant claimed that there was no basis for the punitive damages claim, and the plaintiffs were only seeking punitive damages because they hoped to use the threat of punitive damages as a bargaining chip to get the defendant to settle the lawsuit.

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Earlier this month, a state supreme court decided a case that required the court to examine the two types of awards that are available in personal injury cases and determine if the two were consistent. In the case, Bryant v. Rimrodt, the court ultimately determined that the jury’s determination that the plaintiff was entitled to $1 for his pain and suffering was inconsistent with the finding that he sustained almost $17,000 in medical expenses.

The Facts of the Case

In the case, Bryant v. Rimrodt, the plaintiff was a car salesman who was injured while riding as a passenger in a test-drive with a customer. According to the court’s written opinion, the customer made an illegal left-hand turn and collided with another vehicle. As a result of the accident, the salesperson briefly lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital. He was treated by numerous physicians, with varying diagnoses, none of which was particularly serious. In fact, several treating physicians told the plaintiff that there was no physiological reason for his pain. However, he continued to suffer from back, neck, and shoulder pain. In the following year, the salesman filed a lawsuit against the customer.

After a jury trial, the customer driving the car was found to be at fault, and the plaintiff was awarded roughly $17,000 for medical expenses he had already incurred. However, when it came to damages for his pain and suffering, the jury awarded the plaintiff nothing. Both parties agreed that there had to have been some amount of pain and suffering, given the medical treatment the plaintiff sought. Therefore, the judge sent the jury back into deliberations with instructions to reconcile the verdict. The jury then returned a nominal damages award of $1. Not satisfied with the verdict, the plaintiff asked for a new trial. The judge denied the plaintiff’s request, and then he appealed.

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Earlier this month, an appellate court in New York issued an opinion in a case that discussed the liability that may arise when a doctor at a hospital administers medication to a patient and then releases the patient without any warning that the medication provided may affect their driving. In the case, Davis v. South Nassau Communities Hospital, the plaintiff was not the patient of the doctor but was a third party who was injured in a car accident involving the patient.

The Facts of the Case

A woman (“the Patient”) went to the hospital for treatment. As part of her treatment, she was given opioid pain medication and a benzodiazepine. Less than two hours later, the doctors discharged the Patient. On her way home, the Patient crossed a double-yellow line and collided with a bus being driven by the plaintiff.

The plaintiff filed suit against the treating physicians as well as the hospital that employs them, arguing that the defendants were negligent in failing to warn the Patient that the medication she recently ingested could affect her driving. In an pre-trial proceeding, the defendants asked the court to dismiss the case against them, arguing that the only duty they had was to the Patient, and that duty did not extend to third parties such as the plaintiff.

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