Rood v. Russo
| Decision Date | 24 March 1971 |
| Citation | 283 A.2d 220,161 Conn. 1 |
| Parties | Jean J. ROOD v. Vincent A. RUSSO. |
| Court | Connecticut Supreme Court |
G. Randolph Erskine, Wallingford, for appellant (plaintiff).
Henry W. O'Brien, Hamden, for appellee (defendant).
Before ALCORN, C.J. and HOUSE, THIM, RYAN and SHAPIRO, JJ.
The plaintiff was injured while operating her automobile which was struck in the rear by the defendant's automobile. She brought this action for damages alleging negligence of the defendant-operator. The case was tried to a jury which returned a verdict of $6500. The plaintiff moved to ser the verdict aside on the ground that it was inadequate. The trial court denied the motion and the plaintiff has appealed from the judgment rendered on the verdict. The sole issue is whether the trial court erred in refusing to set aside the verdict as inadequate.
The plaintiff claimed to have proved that on the morning of November 20, 1964, the day following the accident, having pain in her neck and shoulder area, she was examined by Dr. Selker, a neurologist who prescribed a Thomas collar. She saw him six to eight times until February, 1965, and during this period of time she received muscle relaxants and medication for pain. He stopped treating her in the spring of 1965 and she received no further treatment until she had an onset of neck pain in November, 1965, when she had picked up a vacuum cleaner or some other heavy object. She was hospitalized for about a week, resuming treatment with Dr. Selker. In 1966, she was again hospitalized on two occasions, the first, on January 28, related to tests preliminary to a spinal fusion and the second, on February 23, for the operation which resulted in an excision of two cervical discs and a fusion. Dr. Selker performed the operation in conjunction with Dr. Wayne O. Southwick, an orthopedic surgeon. Following her discharge from the hospital, she was readmitted for three weeks with a pulmonary embolism for which she was treated by Dr. Clarence E. Cahow. She suffered pain and disability. She incurred medical and drug bills in a total amount of $3959.98 and also incurred household help expense from November, 1964, to September, 1969, in the amount of $3027. It remained for the jury to determine how much of the plaintiff's difficulties and expenses were causally related to the accident.
In reviewing the action of the trial court on a motion to set aside a verdict, our primary concern is to determine whether the court abused its discretion. Conti v. Brown, 149 Conn. 465, 467, 181 A.2d 591; Desmarais v. Pinto, 147 Conn. 109, 110, 157 A.2d 596. We decide only whether, on the evidence presented, the jury could fairly reach the conclusion they did. Giambartolomei v. Rocky DeCarlo & Sons, Inc., 143 Conn. 468, 474, 123 A.2d 760. The credibility of witnesses and the weight to be accorded to their testimony lie within the province of the jury. We cannot retry the case. Henry v. Bacon, 143 Conn. 648, 651, 124 A.2d 913. The jury had a right to accept part of the testimony and to disregard the remainder. Desmarais v. Pinto, supra, 147 Conn. 111, 157 A.2d 596.
The jury heard no testimony for Dr. Selker. During the trial Dr. Southwick testified for the plaintiff that on November 20, 1964, an X-ray taken at the hospital of the plaintiff's cervical area showed narrowing of the interspace between the fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae and spur formation which went into the spinal cord region as well as into the nerve root holes, all of which had taken place prior to the accident and were degenerative changes; that while it was more probable than not that there was a causal relationship between the accident and the operation he helped perform with Dr. Selker on February 23, 1966, he testified that '(n)o one finding was the cause for her * * * one could not say this or that finding caused her operation.' Dr. Cahow, a physician and surgeon, testified for the plaintiff and stated his opinion regarding the causal relationship between the spinal fusion and the condition for which he treated her. Dr. Lycurgas M. Davey, a neurosurgeon, was called as a witness by the defendant and testified that...
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Griffin v. Nationwide Moving and Storage Co., Inc.
...It is settled that the trier of fact has the right to accept part and disregard part of the testimony of a witness. Rood v. Russo, 161 Conn. 1, 3, 283 A.2d 220 (1971); Desmarais v. Pinto, 147 Conn. 109, 111, 157 A.2d 596 (1960); Clark v. Haggard, 141 Conn. 668, 674, 109 A.2d 358 (1954). " '......
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Birgel v. Heintz
...as that before us where the claim is that the jury award is inadequate. See Bates v. Frinder, 161 Conn. 566, 287 A.2d 739; Rood v. Russo, 161 Conn. 1, 3, 283 A.2d 220; Jerz v. Humphrey, 160 Conn. 219, 246 A.2d 884; Marin v. Silva,156 Conn. 321, 240 A.2d 909, and cases cited. In reviewing th......
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Frankovitch v. Burton
...jury could reasonably have decided as they did, we will not find error in the trial court's acceptance of the verdict. Rood v. Russo, 161 Conn. 1, 3, 283 A.2d 220 (1971); Giambartolomei v. Rocky DeCarlo & Sons, 143 Conn. 468, 474, 123 A.2d 760 (1956). A jury verdict should not be distrubed ......
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Magnon v. Glickman
...jury could reasonably have decided as they did, we will not find error in the trial court's acceptance of the verdict. Rood v. Russo, 161 Conn. 1, 3, 283 A.2d 220 (1971); Giambartolomei v. Rocky DeCarlo & Sons, 143 Conn. 468, 474, 123 A.2d 760 (1956). A jury verdict should not be disturbed ......