Future — continued from Page 32
Personal-injury claim Damages may be awarded for injuries
likely to occur in the future. (Civ. Code, § 3283.) The foundational case for measur-
ing future damages in a personal injury case is Ostertag, supra, in which the expert testified: “I cannot say positively what this boy’s future is, but ... I think it is reason-
Help your client get the medical care they need.
Diagnostic Radiology on Lien
Spinal Injections on Lien
Full service, multi- modality diagnostic imaging center, combining advanced imaging technology, such as CT and MRI, with sub-specialized Radiologists in neuroradiology, musculoskeletal, body imaging and oncoradiology.
We specialize in image-guided, minimally invasive interventional procedures for the treatment and management of both acute and chronic pain.
Translation assistance is available in Spanish, Farsi, French and Korean.
able to assume he is going to have trouble” ‘with his condition.” (Id., at pp. 805-806, 807.) It is “not required” for a doctor to “testify that he [is] reasonably certain that the plaintiff would be disabled in the future. All that is required to establish future disability is that from all the evi- dence, including the expert testimony, if there be any, it satisfactorily appears that such disability will occur with reasonable certainty.” (Mendoza v. Rudolf (1956) 140 Cal.App.2d 633, 637 [295 P.2d 445].) The fact that the amount of future damages may be difficult to measure or subject to various possible contingencies does not bar recovery. [Citation.]” (Garcia v. Duro Dyne Corp., supra, 156 Cal.App.4th at 97-98 [evi- dence that worker’s mesothelioma was rea- sonably certain to recur supported verdict awarding future economic damages in products liability action involving asbestos to which worker was exposed, despite fact that worker was in remission at time of trial; although no expert could state pre- cise future date of recurrence or precise amount of future damages, evidence was sufficient for approximation of future recurrence and future expenses].) “There may be disputed facts regarding the amount of medical expenses or lost wages, or disputed inferences about the probable course of events such as the length of inca- pacitation or whether a continuing disabili- ty will worsen, plateau, or improve.” (Abbott v. Taz Express (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 853, 856 [79 Cal.Rptr.2d 360].) “While there is no clearly established
www.landmarkimaging.com (310) 914-7336
11620 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90025 34— The Advocate Magazine JULY 2011
definition of ‘reasonable certainty,’ evi- dence of future detriment has been held sufficient based on expert medical opin- ion which considered the plaintiff’s par- ticular circumstances and the expert’s experience with similar cases.” (Bihun v. AT & T Information Systems, Inc. (1993) 13 Cal.App.4th 976, 995 [16 Cal.Rptr.2d 787], disapproved on other grounds in Lakin v. Watkins Associated Industries (1993) 6 Cal.4th 644, 664 [863 P.2d 179].) A verdict will be upheld if it is within the range of possibilities supported by any of the testimony. (Pellegrini v. Weiss (2008) 165 Cal.App.4th 515, 532, [81 Cal.Rptr.3d 387].)
See Future, Page 36
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104