Gaskill

Eva Gaskill, plaintiff and appellant herein, brought an action for damages for personal injuries alleging negligence and medical malpractice. Judgment was entered pursuant to a jury verdict against defendant Pacific Hospital of Long Beach in the sum of $25,000, and against defendant Rufus A. Davis, M.D. in the amount of $15,000. The defendants moved for a new trial which was granted. Plaintiff appeals from the order. The appeal is upon a clerk’s transcript with no other record of the trial proceedings.

Briefly stated the grounds of the motion as stated in the notice were (1) irregularity in the proceedings, (2) abuse of discretion of the court. (3) misconduct of the jury, (4) accident and surprise, (5) newly discovered evidence, (6) excessive damages, (7) insufficiency of the evidence, (8) the judgment is against law, and (9) error in law occurring in the trial. The order appealed from stated that the motion was granted “. . . on grounds 3, 7, 8 and 9 stated in the Notice of Motion, and for the reason that each of these is well founded in law and fact. ’ ’

Procedure on motion for a new trial is found in sections 657, 658 and 659 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Prior to 1965 the…