Salzwedel v. Vassil, 8027
| Decision Date | 20 November 1961 |
| Docket Number | No. 8027,8027 |
| Parties | Elizabeth SALZWEDEL, a Minor, by Harry Salzwedel, Her Natural Father and Next Friend, et al., Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. William Norman VASSIL, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Wayne Waldo, Waynesville, John J. Alder, of Alder & Morrison, Kansas City, for appellant.
Cohn & Lentz, Waynesville, for respondents.
This is an action for damages for personal injuries arising out of an automobile collision on October 1, 1958, in Pulaski County, Missouri. Plaintiffs obtained a verdict and judgment against defendant in the following amounts: Ellen Salzwedel, $9,500; Elizabeth Salzwedel, a minor (by next friend) $1,000; and Harry Salzwedel $882.00. From this judgment defendant appealed.
The petition was in three counts; Count I on behalf of Elizabeth Salzwedel, a minor, through her next friend; Count II on behalf of Ellen Salzwedel; and Count III on behalf of Harry R. Salzwedel.
On October 1, 1958, about 5:30 P.M., plaintiff, Ellen Salzwedel, was driving her 1955 Chevrolet automobile east on Highway 66, in the right-hand side of a four lane, blacktop divided highway in Pulaski County, when it was struck from the rear by a 1950 Ford car owned and driven by defendant, Sgt. William Norman Vassil. The collision occurred about one mile east of the Fort Leonard Wood turnoff and about 25 or 30 feet west from the entrance to Whispering Pines Trailer Court. The road at the place of collision was level. The weather was clear, the road dry, and there was a visibility of about 600 yards. The lights on plaintiff's car were on. Plaintiff had been traveling at a speed of about 45 or 50 miles per hour until she reached a point about 200 yards from the entrance to the trailer court when she put on her blinker lights, reduced her speed and looked in the rear view mirror to see if there were any cars coming. She saw car lights a 'good piece' back, three or four hundred yards. At the time of the collision plaintiff's car was traveling 25 or 30 miles per hour. When she signaled to turn into the trailer court she just took her foot off the gas and gradually slowed down. Her car was still in motion when defendant's car struck the rear end thereof. She gave this testimony:
As a result of the impact the trunk of plaintiff's car was pushed in and bumpers bent out of shape. One witness said '* * * the back lid of the trunk was all bent and pushed clear up to the back window, and the whole back end was smashed in. * * * he jarred the car so bad that it broke the seats completely loose inside, * * *'. After the collision plaintiff was able to get out of her car and she ascertained that it was Sgt. Norman Vassil who was driving the Ford car that hit her. At time of accident plaintiff's five minor children were in the car with her. They remained at place of accident 30 or 40 minutes until plaintiff's husband came and took them to their home in Waynesville.
Jim Hudson, Missouri State Highway Patrolman, stationed at Rolla, testified that he investigated the collision and made a report. He stated the collision occurred five-tenths of a mile east of the junction of U. S. Highway 66 and Route 'Y', near the driveway going into Whispering Pines Trailer Court; that the cars involved in the collision were a 1950 Ford Coach and a 1955 Chevrolet sedan; that William Norman Vassil was driving the Ford, his address Company B, 62nd E.B.C., Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He stated the Ford was off the pavement across the ditch, parallel with the driveway leading into the court; that the Chevrolet was about 50 feet beyond the driveway on the shoulder of the road (someone had moved the car off the road). Witness stated the road was dry; that he observed debris in the road at scene of collision, back from the driveway leading into Whispering Pines Court; that the debris was dirt and pieces of metal on the drive in the right hand lane of the two-lane highway of eastbound traffic; that the Chevrolet was damaged in the rear end, bumper, trunk lid and side panel; the Ford had the front end damaged. Witness stated he had a conversation with defendant, Vassil, as to how the collision occurred. He gave this evidence:
'Q. What, if anything, did he say in regards to the collision? A. His statement was that 'it seemed to me like another car got in front of me and I couldn't pass it.'
He stated defendant's speech was incoherent, his eyes were somewhat dilated, he was sweating and his breath smelled of alcohol; that defendant stated he had 'been drinking several beers'.
Witness testified that it was about 500 feet from the top of the hill to the entrance way of Whispering Pines; that the road was downgrade from Fort Wood junction to a point beyond hill crest west. He said you could see west from the entrance to the court along Highway 66, about 500 feet.
Ellen Salzwedel testified that when her car was struck she was 'slung forward against the steering wheel and then snapped back real hard, and my neck was jerked backwards and forwards'. She testified that after the collision she was dazed, felt scared and all shook up but that she managed to get out of the car. Plaintiff arrived back at her home in Waynesville about 7:00 o'clock. She stated when she got back home 'Well, I was awfully nervous and my neck hurt an awfully lot, and the back of my neck and down my back'. She went to their family doctor, Dr. Nickels, an Osteopath at Waynesville on October 3, 1958. She said when she reached the doctor's office she felt 'awfully dizzy'; that she hardly knew what she was doing all day; that the back of her neck hurt, and her shoulders and down into her arms hurt and her head ached. She said 'It was just a sharp pain down my back and dull pain over here in my shoulder (indicating)'. The doctor gave her a chiropractic treatment on her neck and pills to relieve her pain and for her nerves. She returned home after the treatment on October 3rd; that it was quite a while before she went back to the doctor for further treatment. She stated she was having trouble with her monthly periods; that she had never had this trouble before and she went back to Dr. Nickels. She gave this testimony:
Witness testified she was just an ordinary housewife; that her duties consisted of sweeping, scrubbing floors, ironing, cooking and taking care of her children; that prior to the accident she could do this work but after the accident she couldn't work as long periods as before, had to stop and rest or lie down, got very nervous and some things she just could not do; that she has to have her children and husband do them. She stated that during this period her neck and shoulders hurt her a great deal, especially when she got tired doing heavy work. She paid the pain was in the back of her neck, down her back and shoulders and into her arms; that it was just a dull pain at the present time. Witness stated she was still going to Dr. Nickels once a week; that he gives her chiropractic treatments on the back of her neck and three places on her back, which treatments were very painful; that he gives her medicine to relieve the pain and for her nerves. She stated that the treatments make her sick for about two or three hours, then she starts feeling better for two or three days when the pain comes back. She said the pain was the same pain she had right after the accident and the doctor continued to give her pills for her nerves and for the pain in her back. She stated she sometimes takes six or eight pills a day; that the doctor said to take two every time she needed them. She testified that prior to the accident she was able to sleep at nights but after the accident there were a lot of nights she was so nervous she could not sleep because of nervousness and the pain in her back; that she had to take Dr. Nickels' medicine to relieve the pain. The evidence is that plaintiff has six children to care for now, one having been born after the accident, to-wit, January 8, 1960. She was 35 years of age. She gave this testimony:
Witness stated she still has headaches and dizziness; that the floor feels like it is tilting in front of her; that this condition happens once or twice a week; that there is never a day she does not have pain in her shoulders. She stated that she still can drive an automobile but can't go on long distance drives as she could before the accident; that if she drives long distances her shoulder and back start hurting and she gets nervous.
Dr. Harvey Nickels, a physician in Waynesville, Missouri, treated Ellen Salzwedel, plaintiff, for injuries allegedly received in the accident. The doctor stated that he had been treating plaintiff on an average of twice a month since the accident; that she complained of severe pain in the neck region, particularly where the neck and the rib posterior or thoracic area joined together, and severe headaches, with tightness of the neck and numbness and tingling down the...
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