Taylor v. Roberson ( 1972 )

Stolz, Judge.

In this companion case to Taylor v. Roberson, 127 Ga. App. 23, Mr. Taylor sued Mr. Roberson to recover medical expenses incurred, loss of earnings from his job, and loss of his wife’s consortium, resulting from the collision, at which time the plaintiff was a passenger in the vehicle driven by his wife, Mrs. Taylor. The plaintiff obtained verdict and judgment in the amount of $400. The trial judge overruled his motion for new trial on the ground of the inadequacy of the verdict, from which judgment the plaintiff appeals. Held:

"Where a party sues for specific damages he has the burden of showing the amount of loss claimed in such a way that the jury may calculate the amount of loss from the data furnished and will not be placed in a position where an allowance of the loss is based on guesswork.” Williams & Templeton v. Brewer, 93 Ga. App. 603 (1) (92 SE2d 586). In this case the plaintiff introduced in evidence a number of duplicative and confusing medical bills for the treatment of his wife, his stepson, and himself, with no evidence showing for which ones he was responsible. The expenses of the plaintiff’s stepson totaled only $44. There was evidence that the plaintiff’s personal medical expenses amounted to $187.50. With reference to lost wages, there was evidence that, although the plaintiff forfeited a paid vacation, nevertheless he was earning $10 a week more from the same employer than at the time of the collision. Concerning the plaintiff’s wife’s medical expenses, there was evidence that she had a pre-existing arthritic condition which, even if the collision had not occurred, might have caused her symptoms, which were evidenced only by subjective complaints based in part on emotional factors. There was evidence from which the jury, as the sole judges of the parties’ credibility, could have found that both the plaintiff and his wife had virtually recovered prior to the time that some of the medical bills were incurred, so that the total of the bills incurred up to the time of such recovery, which were admitted in evidence (even assuming their reasonableness and the plaintiff’s responsibility therefor), was no greater than the amount of the verdict.

Argued May 23, 1972 Decided September 5, 1972.

"The question of damages being one for the jury, the court should not interfere unless the damages are either so small or so excessive as to justify the inference of gross mistake or undue bias.” Code § 105-2015. The verdict, being within the range of the evidence, will not be disturbed.

The trial judge did not err in his judgment overruling the plaintiff’s motion for new trial.

Judgment affirmed.

Bell, C. J., Hall, P. J., Eberhardt, P. J., Pannell, Been, Quillian, and Clark, JJ., concur. Evans, J., dissents. Hinton R. Pierce, Franklin H. Pierce, for appellant. Jay M. Sawilowsky, for appellee.