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Estate Of Raymond v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.8/23/2000
DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY
This cause was heard upon the record in the trial court. Each error assigned has been reviewed and the following disposition is made:
Plaintiff-appellant Patricia Raymond, executrix of the estate of Gerald Raymond, Sr., appeals from a judgment order entered in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, denying her motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or for a new trial after a jury verdict for defendants-appellees, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, the administrator of the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, and the Industrial Commission of Ohio. The jury had determined that appellant was not entitled to participate in the workers' compensation program for the death of her husband. We affirm.
Gerald Raymond was injured on the job on December 5, 1995. A workers' compensation claim filed by Mr. Raymond for injuries he sustained as a result of this accident was allowed. Five months later, on May 8, 1996, Mr. Raymond went to his family doctor, who had also treated him for his work-related injury, complaining of ankle swelling and pain in his right foot. The problem was diagnosed as an infected Baker's cyst and he was hospitalized the same day at Akron City Hospital. When his condition did not improve, Mr. Raymond was transferred on May l8, 1996, to the Cleveland Clinic. Mr. Raymond was discharged from the Cleveland Clinic on May 28, 1996, but was readmitted on June 15, 1996. He was discharged again on June 24, 1996. He died August 20, 1996. The death certificate signed by Mr. Raymond's family physician, Dr. Dennis McCluskey, lists the cause of death as "cerebral hemorrhage," followed by "liver failure" and "coagulopathy."
Mrs. Raymond filed a death benefits claim with the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, alleging her husband's death was a direct and proximate result of the injuries he suffered in the work-related accident. The application was denied. On March 24, 1998, Mrs. Raymond filed an appeal from the Industrial Commission's denial of her death benefits claim in Summit County Court of Common Pleas.
The sole issue at trial was whether Mr. Raymond's death was a direct and proximate result of his work-related injury. In support of Mrs. Raymond's claim, Dr. McCluskey testified that the injuries Mr. Raymond suffered at work triggered a "cascade of events" that led to his death. Appellees' expert, Dr. Kevin Trangle, testified that, in his opinion, Mr. Raymond's death was caused by factors associated with his pre-existing alcoholism. After a two-day trial, the jury rendered a verdict for appellees, disallowing appellant's claim. The verdict was journalized on April 20, 1999. On April 30, 1999, appellant filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and, in the alternative, a motion for new trial. After a hearing, the court entered an order on June 24, 1999, denying both motions. A timely notice of appeal from the trial court's order denying these motions was filed July 22, 1999.
Appellant raises two assignments of error:
I. IT WAS PREJUDICIAL ERROR FOR THE TRIAL COURT TO ADMIT IN EVIDENCE THE EXPERT TESTIMONY OF DR. TRANGLE AS TO THE DECEDENT'S ALCOHOLISM WITHOUT LAYING A FOUNDATION THEREFOR OR GIVING THE FACTS UPON WHICH THE OPINION IS BASED.
II. THE TRIAL COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION IN DENYING PLAINTIFF'S COUNSEL'S REPEATED REQUESTS TO STATE THE GROUNDS FOR HIS OBJECTIONS TO THE EXPERT TESTIMONY OF DR. TRANGLE.
The issues raised in these assignments of error will be discussed in the order presented.
In her first assignment of error, appellant argues that the testimony of Dr. Trangle should have been excluded at trial, because he fail
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