Easkold v. Rhodes
| Citation | 614 So.2d 495 |
| Decision Date | 04 March 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 79138,79138 |
| Parties | 18 Fla. L. Week. S134 Donna EASKOLD, Petitioner, v. James RHODES, Jr., et ux., Respondents. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Florida |
Robert P. Gaines of Beggs & Lane, Pensacola, for petitioner.
Thomas E. Wheeler, Jr. of Bell, Schuster & Wheeler, P.A., Pensacola, for respondent.
Ada A. Hammond of Taylor, Day & Rio, Jacksonville, amicus curiae for State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.
Jack W. Shaw, Jr. of Osborne, McNatt, Shaw, O'Hara, Brown & Obringer, P.A., Jacksonville, amicus curiae for Florida Defense Lawyers Ass'n.
We have for review Rhodes v. Easkold, 588 So.2d 267 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991), based upon conflict with Shaw v. Puleo, 159 So.2d 641 (Fla.1964), and Burton v. Powell, 547 So.2d 330 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989), on the issue of the jury's ability to accept or reject the testimony of a medical expert. We have jurisdiction based upon article V, section 3(b)(4) of the Florida Constitution, and quash the decision below.
This case arose from an auto accident involving James and Elouise Rhodes and Donna Easkold in July 1988. The Rhodes filed a negligence action against Easkold, seeking damages connected with Elouise Rhodes' injuries. Easkold denied liability, and a jury trial was conducted in 1990.
The depositions of Doctors Flynn, VerVoort, and Jankauskas were presented at the trial. The medical testimony and opinions of those physicians are the issue of this review. The evidence presented in those depositions is reported in the district court opinion:
Dr. Flynn, an orthopedic surgeon, first saw Rhodes in August 1988, at which time she was complaining of pain in her neck, back, and left knee, stemming from the auto accident. A CT scan and arthrogram revealed a herniated disc, nerve impairment in the neck and lower back, arthritic changes in the kneecap, and both torn cartilage and a small chip inside the left knee joint. In February 1989, Flynn performed surgery on the kneecap and, during surgery, discovered a fracture. It was Flynn's opinion that the fracture was caused by trauma, "and from the history she [Rhodes] gave me, the only trauma that she knew of or at least she related to me was the auto accident." It was also Flynn's opinion that Rhodes had sustained permanent injuries to her left knee, back, and neck, in the auto accident. He admitted on cross-examination that he had no way of knowing what percentage of Rhodes' impairment had existed before the 1988 auto accident except "what she told me."
Dr. VerVoort performed an IME on Rhodes in November 1989. It was his opinion, after examining her medical records and taking a history from Rhodes, that she had sustained a permanent injury to her neck, low back, and left knee as a result of the July 1988 auto accident. In giving her history to Dr. VerVoort, Rhodes had denied any history of neck or back pain prior to the July 1988 accident. Dr. VerVoort admitted that he was relying upon Rhodes' statements to him to determine that there was some aggravation of her knee from the accident.
In addition, the record contained the deposition of Dr. Jankauskas, who had been Rhodes' regular physician since 1981. Jankauskas' review of medical charts revealed that Rhodes had been examined both at his office and at the county clinic, on several occasions between 1975 and 1986, for various conditions, including numbness in her left leg and toes, pain in her back, numbness and pain on the left side of her head and neck, left leg pain, and pain in the ears and back. Neither Dr. Flynn nor Dr. VerVoort had had access to these medical records at the time of their depositions.
588 So.2d at 267-268 (alteration in original).
During cross-examination of Elouise Rhodes at trial, it was also elicited that she had given contradictory statements concerning her previous medical history in two depositions taken in April and June of 1990. In the first deposition, Rhodes stated that she had never had any kind of trouble with her back or knees before the 1988 accident, had no other injuries that required treatment from a doctor before the accident, and had not complained to Dr. Jankauskas about pain in her neck, back, or knees before the accident. However, in the second deposition, Rhodes admitted that she had left her job in the maintenance department at Sacred Heart Hospital after she was hit in the leg with a buffer, which caused her to fall down. She also admitted that she had "probably had a little backache or headache" at times before the 1988 accident. Id. at 268.
The jury found Easkold negligent, and awarded Rhodes $37,000 for past and future medical expenses and loss of earning ability. However, the jury awarded no damages for pain and suffering or loss of consortium, and specifically found that Rhodes had not sustained a permanent injury. Rhodes filed a motion for new trial, arguing that the uncontradicted medical evidence indicated that she had sustained permanent injuries as a result of the auto accident. That motion was denied by the trial court. Id.
On appeal, the First District Court of Appeal reversed the denial of the motion for a new trial. The district court found that Rhodes had presented expert medical testimony that she had sustained permanent medical injuries as a result of the auto accident and that this medical evidence was uncontroverted because Easkold presented no medical testimony to the contrary and neither Dr. Flynn nor Dr. VerVoort testified that additional medical history would have changed his opinion. Consequently, the district court determined that the jury's verdict of no permanent injury was contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence and that Rhodes' motion for a new trial should have been granted. Id. at 269.
In reaching this conclusion, the district court relied upon its own holding in Morey v. Harper, 541 So.2d 1285 (Fla. 1st DCA), review denied, 551 So.2d 461 (Fla.1989). As in the instant case, Morey involved a personal injury action for damages sustained in an automobile accident. Two physicians testified that Morey sustained permanent injury from the auto accident. However, it was also demonstrated that the medical history on which the doctors based their opinion of permanency was in part inaccurate. The jury found that Morey did not sustain a...
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