Bellard v. American Cent. Ins. Co.

• Decision Date: 18 April 2008
• Docket Number: No. 2007-C-1335.,No. 2007-C-1399.,2007-C-1335.,2007-C-1399.
• Citation: 980 So.2d 654
• Parties: Eugene BELLARD v. AMERICAN CENTRAL INS. CO., et al.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

980 So.2d 654

Eugene BELLARD v. AMERICAN CENTRAL INS. CO., et al.

No. 2007-C-1335.

No. 2007-C-1399.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

April 18, 2008.

Marceaux Law Firm, Gregory Paul Allen Marceaux, Lake Charles, for applicant in 2007-C-1399 and respondent in 2007-C-1335.

Raggio, Cappel, Chozen & Berniard, Frederick L. Cappel, Richard B. Cappel, Lake Charles; Degan, Blanchard & Nash, Sidney Wallis Degan, III, Travis Louis Bourgeois, for respondent in 2007-C-1399 and applicant in 2007-C-1335.

Michael Paul Bienvenu, Baton Rouge, for amicus curiae, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company.

Gary Joseph Arsenault, Alexandria, for amicus curiae, Louisiana Association for Justice.

WEIMER, Justice.

We granted certiorari in this case primarily to resolve a conflict in the courts of appeal with respect to whether an uninsured motorist carrier is entitled to a credit for medical and disability wage benefits paid on behalf of or to an injured worker by a workers' compensation carrier. The court of appeal reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment which provided the uninsured motorist carrier with a credit for the workers' compensation medical benefits that had been paid by the plaintiff's employer on his behalf. The court of appeal held that the uninsured motorist carrier is not entitled to a credit for medical or disability wage benefits paid by the workers' compensation insurer because these insurers are not solidary obligors and because the collateral source doctrine applies to prohibit the uninsured motorist carrier from receiving a credit for these payments. We disagree.

Another reason we granted certiorari in this case was to address plaintiff's contention that the district court erred in its assessment of causation and in its award of damages. After reviewing the record and the arguments of the parties, we find, as did the court of appeal, that the district court's conclusions as to causation are not manifestly erroneous. However, accepting the district court's factual conclusions as to causation and the extent of plaintiff's injuries, we find that the court abused its vast discretion in assessing the amount of general damages and we increase the award of general damages to $200,000.00. Accordingly, the judgment of the court of appeal is affirmed in part and reversed in part.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On August 26, 2002, Eugene Bellard, a delivery driver for Builders Sav-Mor, Inc. ("Sav-Mor"), a building materials retailer, was driving a company pickup truck when he was rear-ended by an automobile driven by Katie Gayle. Bellard had just completed a delivery and was returning to his place of employment. He was traveling southbound on La. Hwy. 27 in Sulphur, Louisiana, with the intention of making a left turn onto the entrance ramp of Interstate 10 East. The weather was wet and rainy. When he entered the designated left turn lane, oncoming traffic forced Bellard to bring his truck to a stop. As traffic cleared and Bellard released the clutch in anticipation of moving forward, Gayle's vehicle hydroplaned into the rear of the truck. Gayle estimated she was traveling between twenty and twenty-five miles per hour at the time of impact.

Gayle's vehicle struck the tailgate of the truck, which was equipped with a "Tommy Gate," a heavy duty steel hydraulic lift gate used for loading and unloading cargo. The lift gate came to rest on the hood of Gayle's car, causing the front and passenger side windows to shatter and the air bag to deploy. Gayle's car was towed from the scene and was ultimately declared a total loss. Sav-Mor's truck, on the other hand, sustained almost imperceptible damage; the truck and its lift gate remained in use by Sav-Mor without the necessity of any repairs.

Gayle suffered minor injuries in the accident, consisting mostly of bruising and burns from the deployed air bag and her seat belt. Bellard refused medical treatment at the scene, and again later, when he returned to work and reported the accident to his employer. He continued to work that day and for approximately eight days thereafter. On September 3, 2002, Bellard presented at the W.O. Moss Regional Medical Center Emergency Room with complaints of generalized pain. He was examined, medication was prescribed, and he was released.

On September 25, 2002, Bellard consulted Dr. Robert Dale Bernauer, an orthopedic surgeon, complaining of neck pain and pain in the left shoulder that extended down the arm and into the elbow. He reported tingling in both hands and lower back pain radiating down his thigh. Dr. Bernauer recommended a course of physical therapy and prescribed muscle relaxers and pain medication. Suspecting a herniated lumbar disc, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, and a cervical injury, Dr. Bernauer ordered an MRI of the cervical and lumbar spine and an EMG of both hands. Before those diagnostic tests could be completed, however, Bellard was involved in another automobile accident.

On November 24, 2002, Bellard drove his car into a telephone pole in a self-described suicide attempt. Although Bellard described the impact as "very hard" and stated his vehicle was a total loss, he denied suffering any physical injuries in the incident. He did, however, seek treatment for depression and was subsequently admitted to Lake Charles Memorial Hospital for psychiatric treatment for a period of one week. Bellard explained that he was feeling overwhelmed by debt, unemployment and chronic pain, which he attributed to the accident with Gayle. Dr. Bernauer's notes reflect that after this second accident, Bellard reported experiencing an increase in pain, but no new injuries. He continued with a course of conservative treatment.

In late November or early December 2003, Bellard was involved in a third accident. This automobile accident occurred when Bellard, traveling at a speed of approximately thirty-five miles per hour, ran a stop sign and broad-sided another vehicle. The Ford Ranger he was driving sustained extensive front end damage, rendering it a total loss. Nevertheless, Bellard maintained that he was not injured in the accident, and he continued with the course of treatment prescribed by Dr. Bernauer.

Experiencing no appreciable improvement in his condition, Bellard underwent the first in a series of four surgeries in March 2004; he had lumbar spine surgery, which consisted of a facetectomy, diskectomy and fusion at L5-S1. In February and April of 2005, two more surgeries were performed to correct bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. The lumbar surgery and the carpal tunnel release surgeries proved to be successful. Finally, in September 2005, Bellard underwent cervical spine surgery, which consisted of a three-level diskectomy and fusion at C3-C4, C4-C5, and C5-C6. At the time of trial, Bellard was still recovering from the cervical spine surgery. He had not worked since September 2002, shortly following the first accident.

On December 10, 2002, Bellard filed suit against Gayle and her liability insurer, American Central Insurance Company, seeking damages for the injuries he sustained in the August 2002 rear end collision. By supplemental and amending petition, Trinity Universal Insurance Company of Kansas, Inc. ("Trinity") was added as a defendant based on a policy of uninsured motorist insurance issued to Bellard's employer, Sav-Mor. Sav-Mor, in turn, intervened in the lawsuit seeking recovery of workers' compensation disability benefits paid to and medical benefits paid on behalf of Bellard.

Bellard ultimately settled with the tortfeasor, Gayle, and her liability insurer, American Central Insurance Company, for the policy limits of $50,000, and voluntarily dismissed those defendants from his lawsuit. Thus, Trinity, Sav-Mor's uninsured motorist carrier, was left as the lone defendant. Bellard then filed a motion for summary judgment seeking to dismiss Sav-Mor's intervention against Trinity on grounds that the policy of uninsured motorist insurance issued by Trinity excludes coverage for the "direct or indirect benefit of any insurer or self-insurer under any workers' compensation, disability benefits or similar law." Based on this court's decision in Travelers Insurance Company v. Joseph, 95-0200 (La.6/30/95), 656 So.2d 1000, which upheld an identical exclusion in a policy of uninsured motorist insurance, the summary judgment was granted and the intervention of Sav-Mor dismissed with prejudice.

Following the dismissal of Sav-Mor's intervention, Trinity filed a motion for summary judgment seeking a declaration that it is entitled to a credit for all payments made to Bellard as workers' compensation benefits. After taking the motion under advisement, the district court granted Trinity's motion and issued detailed written reasons in support of its ruling. Adopting the rationale of the Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit in Molony v. United Services Automobile Association, 96-1747 (La.App. 4 Cir. 11/6/96), 683 So.2d 891, writ denied, 96-2915 (La.2/21/97), 688 So.2d 516, the district court concluded that Trinity is entitled to a credit for medical expenses paid as workers' compensation benefits because the workers' compensation carrier and the uninsured motorist carrier are solidarily liable for medical expenses, and payment by one solidary obligor relieves the other of liability toward the obligee to the extent of the payment. In reaching its conclusion, the district court expressly rejected Bellard's contention that the collateral source doctrine applies in this situation to prohibit the credit. In so doing, the court noted that a major policy consideration prompting the collateral source doctrine is the concern that a tortfeasor not benefit from the fact that the injured victim has had the foresight to obtain insurance and other benefits. The court pointed out that such a concern is not a factor in this case, as the tortfeasor has been released and will not in any manner "benefit" from the credit to the employer's uninsured...