In a recent decision dated June 9, 2021, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal in Lafayette found that a jury’s damage award to a man injured due the negligence of a dealership service technician was abusively low. In 2015, the plaintiff Shawn Copell brought his Ford F-150 truck to Arceneaux Ford for an oil change and tire rotation. The technician failed to tighten the lug nuts on the driver’s side rear tire, which caused the tire to become dislodged and the truck to abruptly stop approximately three miles from the dealership.

Copell began to feel pain symptoms overnight, and he sought medical care the next morning. He was eventually diagnosed with a bulging disc at C5-C6. His doctor tried conservative care, but when that did not work, plaintiff underwent an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgery. Mr. Copell filed suit against Arceneaux Ford and its liability insurer, and the case was tried to a jury in 2019. The jury found the dealership liable, but only awarded $16,000.00 in general damages, $104,000.00 in past medical expenses, and $95,000.00 in future medical expenses. It awarded no damages for past and future mental pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, and it failed to award all estimated future medical expenses.

The court of appeal reasoned that the awards were too low. If the jury accepted that the dealership was responsible for the injuries, it abused its discretion in only awarding $16,000 in general damages. After examining previous jury awards and court decisions, as well as the evidence Mr. Copell introduced at trial, the court of appeal found that the lowest reasonable award for Mr. Copell for past and future pain and suffering was $100,000. The court found $25,000 to be the lowest reasonable award for past and future mental anguish, and the jury was wrong to award nothing. Further, the court found that the jury was wrong to fail to award any damages for loss of enjoyment of life and increased that award from zero to $25,000.

Finally, while the jury awarded $95,000 for a needed future surgery, the court of appeal found it erred by failing to award anything for associated medical costs such as pre-operative and post-operative visits, costs of necessary prescription medications, and physical therapy. The court increased the jury award for future medical expenses from $95,000.00 to $217,393.06.

This case shows the low awards some Louisiana juries are giving in personal injury cases, the willingness of Louisiana appellate courts to disturb jury awards when they are logically inconsistent and fail to comport with the evidence in a case, and the long amount of time in can take for a plaintiff to get justice in a personal injury case if the parties cannot reach a settlement. The case is Copell v. Arceneaux Ford, Inc. et. al., Docket No. 20-299 in the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal.