Anderson v. Zamir

SUPREME COURT CASES

Laws-info.com » Cases » Illinois » 5th District Appellate » 2010 » Anderson v. Zamir

Anderson v. Zamir

State: Illinois

Court: 5th District Appellate

Docket No: 5-08-0542 Rel

Case Date: 06/22/2010

Preview:Rule 23 order filed May 19, 2010; Motion to publish granted June 22, 2010, corrected August 9, 2010

NO. 5-08-0542 IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

FIFTH DISTRICT ________________________________________________________________________ TIFFANY ANDERSON, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellant, ) Jackson County. ) v. ) No. 07-L-74 ) SAEED ZAMIR and SAADIA ZAMIR, ) Honorable ) E. Dan Kimmel, Defendants-Appellees. ) Judge, presiding. ________________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE CHAPMAN delivered the opinion of the court: Tiffany Anderson appeals from the trial court's September 19, 2008, denial of her motion for a new trial from a final judgment after a jury trial, which awarded her $12,500 in damages resulting from injuries and damages sustained in a motor vehicle accident. We reverse and remand. On September 22, 2005, Tiffany was involved in a motor vehicle accident with Saadia Zamir. Tiffany was rear-ended. Her head hit the steering wheel. Tiffany's car was pushed forward into the car directly in front of her vehicle. Her vehicle was towed. Although sore immediately following the accident, she did not seek medical attention right after the accident. Later that day, Tiffany went to the hospital to try to obtain medical care related to a headache from which she had suffered since the accident. Her neck was also sore at this time. Overall, her symptoms had gotten worse since the time of the accident. That evening at the hospital, she was prescribed a neck brace and pain medication. Thereafter, she followed up with the medical clinic of the student health center at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIU-C), where she was then a student. She

1

testified that she complained of pain stemming from her lower back and running up into her neck, primarily on the left side of her body. Dr. Rollin Perkins, a sports medicine physician for the university's health services, was the physician assigned to oversee Tiffany's care and treatment. She was treated with pain medication and some physical therapy and home exercises for about six months. In the spring of 2006, she had a cervical MRI, which the radiologist determined was negative. In July 2006, Tiffany returned to the student health center medical clinic with specific left shoulder complaints. Tiffany was referred to Dr. Treg Brown, an orthopedic specialist at the clinic. An MRI of her left shoulder revealed a tear in the labrum of her left shoulder, and in December 2006, Tiffany underwent left shoulder surgery to repair the labrum tear. The surgery was orthoscopic and left Tiffany with several small scars on her left shoulder. After the surgery, Tiffany underwent physical therapy. Tiffany provided testimony about the pain she experienced from the injuries and following the surgery. Tiffany testified to the activities in which she had engaged before the accident and the limitations she experienced due to these injuries. Tiffany filed suit against the Zamirs for personal injuries resulting from the accident. The Zamirs admitted liability. The case went to trial on the issue of damages only. The trial was held for two days beginning on July 21, 2008. Medical bills totaling $28,804 were admitted into evidence. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury awarded Tiffany a total of $12,500

Download Anderson v. Zamir.pdf