Abdominal Injury

$90,000 Verdict

Type of Action: Negligence

Type of Injuries: Abdominal injury

Court/Case Number/Date: Newton County Circuit Court/CV395-103CC/May 1, 1998

Caption: Hughes, et al. v. Estate of Lewis

ADR Attempts: None

Judge, Jury, or ADR: Jury

Name of Judge: Carl Gum

Special Damages Claimed: $120,000 past medical expense; $50,000 past lost wages

Verdict or Settlement: $90,000 verdict

Allocation of Fault: 100 percent to defendant

Last Offer: $7,500

Last Demand: $500,000

Attorneys for Plaintiffs: Roger Johnson and Scott Gallagher, Joplin

Insurance Carrier: Farmers Insurance Co.

Plaintiffs' Experts: Dr. Robert Capehart, Tulsa, Okla. (colorectal surgeon); John Smith, Denver, Colo. (biomechanics)

Defendant's Experts: Dr. Mark Allen, Kansas City (gastroenterologist); Dr. Scott Strabach, Kansas City (pathologist)

Facts of the Case: The plaintiff was 26-year-old woman who sued for injuries she claimed she suffered in an auto accident.

The accident happened on May 9, 1992, when the defendant made a U-turn in front of the plaintiff on a two-lane country road. The plaintiff clipped the front end of the defendant's car and ended up in a ditch. Several weeks after the accident, the plaintiff began to develop abdominal pain and diarrhea. Because she had suffered similar symptoms in the previous two years, she was not alarmed at first. But the symptoms became steadily worse until she was admitted to the hospital with a perforated colon. She had surgery on Oct. 5, 1992, and four subsequent surgeries.

The plaintiff claimed she received an abdominal injury in the accident when her body "submarined" under the seatbelt, which brought the belt into contact with her abdomen rather than her pelvis.

The defendant claimed the plaintiff suffered from pre-existing Crohn's disease and that the accident neither caused nor aggravated her condition.

Prejudgment interest of $42,000 was also awarded.