Poteet v. MacMillan

Citations

• 2022 Ohio 876

Syllabus

The trial court erred in granting a directed verdict that Poteet had sustained a \permanent injury or loss.\ There was a conflict among the three doctors regarding the permanence of the injuries, and by not specifying the injury it considered permanent, the trial court inadvertently created an ambiguity prejudicial to the defendant. The trial court also erred in denying defendant's motion for a directed verdict that plaintiff did not have a permanent and substantial physical deformity. The evidence presented did not cross the threshold to present the question to a jury. Although they deviated from the Ohio Jury Instructions, the trial court's jury instructions did not constitute an abuse of discretion. The trial court abused its discretion by excluding evidence of plaintiff's post-accident incarceration after plaintiff opened the door to such evidence. The trial court did not err by excluding evidence of plaintiff's drug use.