Bradshaw Attorneys Successfully Defend Defendant School District on Appeal

On January 27, 2016, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed a district court ruling excluding evidence of Plaintiff’s noneconomic damages as a discovery sanction and refusing to grant a new trial. The Defendant school district and Defendant teacher were represented by Bradshaw Law Firm attorneys Jason C. Palmer and Catherine M. Lucas. The Plaintiff student filed a personal injury action against Defendants for the loss of fingers while using a table saw in wood shop class. Following a jury trial, Plaintiff appealed the jury verdict, asserting the district court abused its discretion in preventing him from introducing evidence of his noneconomic damages as a sanction for failing to disclose the damage amounts during discovery. Plaintiff also claimed the court should have granted him a new trial because the jury failed to award him damages for his loss of earning capacity, and that the record did not contain substantial evidence of his comparative fault. On appeal, the appellate court found no abuse of discretion in the district court’s decision to exclude the damages that were not previously disclosed during discovery. Additionally, the appellate court affirmed the decision of the district court in denying plaintiff’s motions for a new trial.