The Court of Appeals recently reversed a trial court order denying a plaintiff noneconomic damages and remanded for a new trial limited to the issue of calculating noneconomic damages. The case is Pietila v Wisotzke, unpublished Michigan Court of Appeals case 321652, decided September 29, 2016. In Pietila, the plaintiff was seriously injured when she collided with another skier on Marquette Mountain. She suffered fractures to her eye socket, “flattening” of her nose, a broken jaw, and fractures to her knee and hand. She also underwent extensive surgeries, lost the ability to smell, had a decreased ability to taste food, suffered ongoing double vision, and had limited use of her jaw. At trial, the defendant did not challenge the extent of plaintiff’s injuries and stipulated that her past medical expenses were almost $29,000. Subsequently, the jury found the defendant 50% negligent, but declined to award either economic or noneconomic damages. The circuit court judge found that the verdict declining to award economic damages went against the great weight of the evidence and awarded the plaintiff half of the stipulated out of pocket medical expenses. However, the trial judge found that the jury’s decision not to award noneconomic damages was not against the great weight of the evidence. The plaintiff appealed the decision.
A new trial is required where the verdict is against the great weight of the evidence. See MCR 2.611(A)(1)(e). “A verdict is against the great weight of the evidence if the evidence preponderates so heavily against the verdict that it would be a miscarriage of justice to allow the verdict to stand.” Given this standard, the court found that the jury had no evidentiary basis to refute plaintiff’s impairments, nor was there any evidence in the record that the plaintiff was not denied social pleasures and enjoyments during her hospitalization and recovery period. As such, the court reversed the trial court’s order and remanded to the trial court for a new trial on the issue of noneconomic damages.
Read more about our expertise in personal injury and litigation & appeals.
PERSONAL INJURY & ACCIDENT LAW LITIGATION & APPEALSAbout the Author
