Riley v. Salley
Louisiana Court of Appeal
874 So.2d 874 (2004)
Coleen Salley (defendant) ran a stop sign and crashed into Octavia Riley's (plaintiff) car. Riley had been receiving physical therapy for a preexisting injury before the crash, but afterward developed increased neck pain and weakness in her right arm; a post-crash myelogram revealed spinal cord compression, and she had surgery to correct a herniated disc. Riley sued Salley and her insurer, State Farm (defendants); the parties stipulated Salley caused the crash, and after trial the court awarded Riley $137,652.60. Salley and State Farm appealed.
Whether a defendant is liable for the full harm his negligence causes when it aggravates a plaintiff's preexisting condition, even though a person without that condition might not have suffered the same injury.