Flores v. Gutierrez

• Decision Date: 10 August 2011
• Docket Number: No. 45A04–1101–CT–28.,45A04–1101–CT–28.
• Citation: 951 N.E.2d 632
• Parties: Raymond FLORES, Appellant–Plaintiff,v.Juan P. Rocha GUTIERREZ, Appellee–Defendant.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

951 N.E.2d 632

Raymond FLORES, Appellant–Plaintiff,

v.Juan P. Rocha GUTIERREZ, Appellee–Defendant.

No. 45A04–1101–CT–28.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

Aug. 10, 2011.

Adam J. Sedia, Rubino, Ruman, Crosmer, Smith, Sersic & Polen, Dyer, IN, Attorney for Appellant.Shawn C. Swope, Swope Law Offices, LLC, Schererville, IN, Attorney for Appellees.

OPINION

BRADFORD, Judge.

Following an automobile accident, Appellant–Plaintiff Raymond Flores brought a personal injury action against Appellee–Defendant Juan Rocha Gutierrez in which Gutierrez was determined to be liable, but the jury awarded Flores no damages. The trial court subsequently denied Flores's motion to correct error alleging that the verdict was inconsistent with the evidence and inadequate as a matter of law. Upon appeal, Flores claims that the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion to correct error. In addition, Flores challenges the trial court's admission of certain evidence, specifically a photograph of property damage and his claim for worker's compensation benefits relating to a subsequent fall. He also challenges the trial court's exclusion of certain of his medical records. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On December 6, 2007, Gutierrez's vehicle struck Flores's vehicle from behind as it was stopped at an intersection in Hammond, Indiana. Following a brief investigation by police, Flores drove his vehicle home. Flores, who claimed that his back and neck hurt, sought care from his family practice physician, Dr. Herbert Alan Jones, D.O., the next day.

Previously, in 1999, Flores had similarly sought treatment from Dr. Jones for neck and back pain following an automobile accident. At the time, Flores was diagnosed with arthritis, scoliosis, and degenerative disc disease. According to Dr. Jones, Flores's neck and back pain attributable to the 1999 accident had resolved by 2001.

Upon examining Flores following the December 2007 accident, Dr. Jones determined that he had decreased range of motion in his neck and back. Subsequent x-rays demonstrated that Flores had muscle spasm in his cervical spine, as well as osteoarthritis, narrowing of the disc spaces, and neural foraminal compromise. According to Dr. Jones, the osteoarthritis, narrowing of the disc spaces, and neural foraminal compromise were attributable to degenerative changes and aging. X-rays of Flores's lumbar spine showed scoliosis and osteoarthritis. According to Dr. Jones, a person with Flores's height, weight, and medical history could be expected to have some arthritis and “spine issues.” Tr. p. 162.

Flores returned to Dr. Jones on December 14, 2007. An MRI of Flores's cervical spine found “multilevel disc disease and ostioarthritis [sic] causing muscle spasm, spinal stenosis and foraminal compromise[.]” Plaintiff's Exh. 2, p. 5. Dr. Jones testified, contrary to the MRI report, that the muscle spasm was caused by the accident. An MRI of Flores's lumbar spine showed disc disease and facet join arthrosis, both of which preexisted the accident. Dr. Jones referred Flores to pain management specialist Dr. Adlaka. Flores sought additional relief from a chiropractor. Flores next visited Dr. Jones on July 7, 2008 for reasons unrelated to the accident. At that visit, Flores mentioned he had stiffness in his back.

On April 13, 2009, Flores filed an action against Gutierrez for damages arising out of the December 6, 2007 accident. In January of 2010, Flores fell on some ice at his place of employment. He sought medical care and received x-rays following that fall, and he filed a worker's compensation claim.

Following his July 7, 2008 visit, Flores's next visit to Dr. Jones allegedly relating to the accident was on March 6, 2010, at which time he reported continuing back and neck pain. Flores did not report the January 2010 fall to Dr. Jones, however, and Dr. Jones was unaware that it had occurred.

On May 5, 2010, following unsuccessful efforts to locate Gutierrez, the trial court entered a default judgment against him as to liability but ruled that Flores had the burden of proving proximate cause, injury and damages. In addition, the trial court barred Gutierrez from testifying at trial, and barred his defense counsel from presenting expert witnesses, including experts to contest reasonableness, necessity, or causation of Flores's medical care.

Flores visited Dr. Jones again on March 31, May 22, June 5, and June 19, 2010. As of March 31, 2010, Dr. Jones's diagnosis of Flores was that he had cervical whiplash and a ruptured disc to the neck and back which Dr. Jones attributed to the December 6, 2007 accident. In Dr. Jones's view, this diagnosis represented an aggravation of a preexisting condition and would remain a chronic condition. Dr. Jones referred Flores to Rehabilitation Center for physical therapy, among other treatments.

Prior to trial, Flores filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude Defendant's Exhibit D, a photograph of Flores's vehicle following the accident. The photograph shows little to no damage to the vehicle. Flores also sought to exclude any references to his worker's compensation claim. The trial court denied the motions.

At trial, Flores conceded in his testimony that he had made statements during discovery proceedings that he had not had back or neck problems prior to the December 6, 2007 accident. Also at trial, the trial court admitted, over Flores's objection, Defendant's Exhibit D. The trial court also permitted defense counsel to refer to Flores's worker's compensation claim. In addition, the trial court excluded Plaintiff's Exhibits 3, 4, 6, and 7, which consisted of various medical records.

Upon being instructed that the trial court had found Gutierrez at fault, the jury returned a verdict finding Gutierrez at fault but awarding zero damages. Following the trial court's entry of judgment, Flores filed a motion to correct error on September 14, 2010. The trial court denied the motion, and this appeal follows.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Damages

Flores's first claim on appeal is that the jury's award of zero damages is inconsistent with the evidence and inadequate as a matter of law. A jury determination of damages is entitled to great deference when challenged on appeal. Sears Roebuck and Co. v. Manuilov, 742 N.E.2d 453, 462 (Ind.2001). The applicable standard of review has been summarized as follows:

Damages are particularly a jury determination. Appellate courts will not substitute their idea of a proper damage award for that of the jury. Instead, the court will look only to the evidence and inferences therefrom which support the jury's verdict. We will not deem a verdict to be the result of improper considerations unless it cannot be explained on any other reasonable ground. Thus, if there is any evidence in the record which supports the amount of the award, even if it is variable or conflicting, the award will not be disturbed.

Id. (quoting Prange v. Martin, 629 N.E.2d 915, 922 (Ind.Ct.App.1994) (internal citations omitted)). In addition, the Supreme Court has noted the following:

Our inability to actually look into the minds of the jurors is, to a large extent, the reason behind the rule that we will not reverse if the award falls within the bounds of the evidence. We cannot invade the province of the jury to decide the facts and cannot reverse unless the verdict is clearly erroneous.

Id. (quoting Annee v. State, 256 Ind. 686, 690, 271 N.E.2d 711, 713 (1971)).

Flores's claim is premised upon his assumption that the jury was required to believe Flores's and Dr. Jones's testimony that Flores's injuries were caused by the 2007 collision with Gutierrez.¹ But the jury was within its fact-finding discretion to discredit this testimony. Evidence at trial indicated that the accident was not particularly violent. Flores drove himself home afterward, and the damage to his vehicle, if any occurred, was slight. Evidence further indicated that Flores was not always forthcoming regarding his history of neck and back pain and that he had had failed to disclose the fact of his January 2010 fall to Dr. Jones. Accordingly, the jury would have been fully justified in finding Flores's testimony lacking in credibility. Further still, Dr. Jones's opinion that Flores's muscle spasm was caused by the accident was directly contradicted by the December 14, 2007 MRI report attributing muscle spasm to osteoarthritis and/or multilevel disc disease. In addition, Dr. Jones specifically testified that the fact of a fall would be relevant to his diagnosis, that he had been unaware of Flores's January 2010 fall when reaching his diagnosis, and that his assessment of Flores was based, at least in part, upon Flores's representations. The jury was therefore similarly justified in discrediting Dr. Jones's diagnosis.

Flores suggests that, without expert testimony to the contrary, the jury was not free to discredit Dr. Jones's testimony. It is true that “[t]he testimony of a trained physician who has examined and treated a patient concerning matters purely within the medical realm cannot be controverted by lay opinion or by judicial speculation or inference.” Beaman v. Hedrick, 146 Ind.App. 404, 407, 255 N.E.2d 828, 830 (1970) (reversing trial court determination of paternity when expert medical witness's testimony was that paternity was improbable but not impossible). “However, on medical matters which are within the common experience, observation, or knowledge of laymen, no expert testimony is required to permit a conclusion on causation.” Willis v. Westerfield, 839 N.E.2d 1179, 1188 (Ind.2006) (internal quotation omitted).

We are not persuaded that causation in this case was a matter purely within the medical realm. Flores had multiple back problems, including a history of back and neck pain, much of it pre-existing what was from all appearances a relatively minor accident. An MRI report specifically attributed his muscle spasm condition to these pre-existing...