$175,000 award of damages for decedent's pain and suffering upheld although he was conscious and in severe pain for only short time
How later courts described this case
- $175,000 award of damages for decedent's pain and suffering upheld although he was conscious and in severe pain for only short time
- sustained $650,000 jury verdict for 40 minutes of pain and suffering and mental anguish incurred by young man before death from skull fracture after fall from flatbed truck
- crash victim still alive, eyes open, trying to cough when entering ambulance
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
COHEN, Justice,
concurring.
I agree with the result reached in this case. However, I would follow Whipple v. Deltscheff, 731 S.W.2d 700, 703 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1987, writ ref’d n.r.e.), and hold as a matter of law that “grief and bereavement” are elements of “mental anguish.” I can find no basis to permit recovery of damages for “mental anguish,” plus a separate, additional recovery for “grief and bereavement.” If there is a distinction, it is a very fine distinction, and not worthy of the machinations required of litigants and courts attempting to avoid a double or overlapping recovery of damages. “Distinctions which are too fine are apt to lead to needless perplexities and purely legalistic results.” Houston Transit Co. v. Felder, 146 Tex. 428 , 208 S.W.2d 880, 883 (1948). It would be more fair to submit a single “mental anguish” issue, accompanied by an instruction broad enough to include every type of mental anguish, including “grief and bereavement,” and all the others.