Dodson

SUMMARY

The jury in a personal injury case rendered a special verdict finding defendant was negligent and its negligence was a cause of injury to plaintiff. The jury found plaintiff, who presented surgical bills as the principal item of economic damages, suffered damages caused by the accident, but suffered no noneconomic damages. The trial court denied plaintiff’s motion for a new trial on noneconomic damages.

We hold that where a plaintiff has undergone surgery in which a herniated disc is removed and a metallic plate inserted, and the jury has expressly found that defendant’s negligence was a cause of plaintiff’s injury, the failure to award any damages for pain and suffering results in a damage award that is inadequate as a matter of law.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Major Dodson was self-employed in the scrap metal business. He sued J. Pacific, Inc., for general negligence and premises liability in connection with an incident that occurred on December 12, 2002, while J. Pacific’s employees were loading large cylindrical pieces of scrap metal onto Dodson’s flatbed truck. During the loading process, a metal cylinder, weighing between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds,…