BENITA SOTO AND GILBERTO SOTO, APPELLANT,
v.
DOLGEN CORP., INC., A FOREIGN CORPORATION, D/B/A DOLLAR GENERAL STORES, APPELLEE
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Mrs. Soto slipped and fell in a Dollar General store, suffering a severe shoulder fracture requiring two surgeries and resulting in permanent 40% loss of shoulder function. The trial court awarded only $5,000 for past pain and suffering and $5,000 for future intangibles, which the appellate court found grossly inadequate and reversed for a new trial on damages.
The court reversed for a new trial on damages only, holding that the $5,000 award for past intangible damages was grossly inadequate in light of the two operations and disability, and the $5,000 award for future intangible damages was also grossly inadequate, particularly because the jury initially awarded nothing for future intangibles while recognizing severity by awarding $15,000 for future medical expenses.
[1] An award of $5,000 for past pain and suffering is grossly inadequate when a plaintiff has undergone two surgeries, incurred significant medical expenses, and suffered a p…
[2] A jury's award of zero for future pain and suffering, when the plaintiff has a recognized permanent injury and significant future medical expenses, may be considered gros…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“We agree with the plaintiff that under the circumstances of this case, the $5,000 award for past intangible damages, in light of the two operations and disability, is grossly inadequate.”
Establishes the court's holding that past intangible damages award was grossly inadequate
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMrs. Soto, age 59, slipped and fell in a Dollar General store and shattered her left shoulder. She underwent two surgeries, spent fourteen days in hos…
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KLEIN, Judge.
Appellant Benito Soto slipped and fell in a store owned by appellee, and shattered her left shoulder. Because the amounts awarded to her — $5,000 for past pain and suffering, etc., and $5,000 for future intangibles — are grossly inadequate, we reverse for a new trial.
Mrs. Soto, who is 59 years old, underwent two different surgeries and spent fourteen days in the hospital as a result of her shoulder injury. Her medical expenses were $37,-200. As a result of her injury she has a 40% permanent loss of function of her shoulder because of the fracture, bone loss, rotator cuff tear, and calcification. Her treating physician translated this to a 20% disability of the whole body, and the defendant’s physician agreed. She cannot lift her arm higher than 45 degrees, and because of her continuing pain, she may have to have a total shoulder replacement or have her shoulder fused.
The jury found the plaintiff 60% negligent and the defendant 40% negligent, and awarded $37,200 for past medical expenses, $15,000 for future medical expenses, and $5,000 for past pain and suffering, etc. The jury awarded nothing for future pain and suffering, etc., or for loss of consortium for her husband.
After the verdict was returned the court and counsel agreed that the verdict was improper because the jury had not awarded consortium damages, and the parties stipulated that the jury should be instructed to deliberate further on the consortium and future intangible damages. The jury then awarded $5,000 for future intangibles and $1,000 for past loss of consortium and $1,000 for future loss of consortium. Plaintiff moved for a new trial on the ground that the verdict was inadequate, the trial court denied the motion, and plaintiffs have appealed.
In Dyes v. Spick, 606 So. 2d 700 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992) plaintiff had two lumbar disc operations, medical expenses of $33,000, and a 14% permanent impairment of the body as a result of an accident. The jury awarded plaintiff his past medical expenses as well as $11,500 for future medical expenses, $5,000 for past pain and suffering, and $11,000 for future pain and suffering, etc. The first district concluded that the amount awarded for past intangible damages was grossly inadequate and reversed for a new trial.
Similarly, in Figueredo v. Keller Industries, Inc., 583 So. 2d 432 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991), the third district reversed for a new trial because it found $5,000 for past intangible damages and $5,000 for future intangible damages to be grossly inadequate for plaintiffs two herniated discs.
We agree with the plaintiff that under the circumstances of this case, the $5,000 award for past intangible damages, in light of the two operations and disability, is grossly inadequate. And the fact remains that the jury first awarded nothing for future intangible damages, yet recognized the severity of plaintiffs injury by awarding her $15,000 for future medical expenses. Although the $5,000 awarded for future intangible damages after the case was resubmitted to the jury is not as shocking as the zero award was, it is still grossly inadequate.
Although in Dyes and Figueredo the court did not order a new trial for all elements of damage, we conclude that under the circumstances of this case all elements should be retried unless the parties agree that the amounts awarded for past and future medical need not be retried. Since plaintiff seeks a new trial on damages only, and defendant does not suggest that there is any reason to again try liability, the retrial shall be on damages only.
Reversed.
OWEN, WILLIAM C., Jr., Senior Judge, concurs.
STONE, J., dissents with opinion.
STONE, Judge,
dissenting.
I dissent and would affirm. I cannot conclude from this record, containing only transcripts of the final argument and doctors’ testimony introduced by video deposition, that denial of a new trial constituted an abuse of trial court discretion. I therefore would not reach the issue addressed by the majority.
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Doughty v. Ins. Co. OF N. Am., 701 So. 2d 1225 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)…the additur of $8,000 for future pain and suffering and future medical expenses, is grossly inadequate. See Dyes v. Spick, 606 So. 2d 700 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992); Figueredo v. Keller Indus., Inc., 583 So. 2d 432 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991); Soto v. Dolgen Corp., 665 So. 2d 1086 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). As we noted earlier, plaintiffs treating physician testified that she had a very serious knee injury and that she would ultimately need replacement of the knee cap or the total knee. Defendant’s expert disagreed, but when asked…
Authorities Cited
- Dyes v. Spick, 606 So. 2d 700 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)
- Figueredo v. Keller Indus., Inc., 583 So. 2d 432 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)