Opinion
(SC 15777)
Argued February 19, 1998
Officially released March 24, 1998
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Action to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff as a result of a fall on certain of the defendant's real property, and for other relief, brought to the Superior Court in the judicial district of Waterbury and tried to the jury before Kulawiz, J.; verdict for the plaintiff; thereafter, the court granted the defendant's motion for a hearing to determine the amount of collateral source payments to be deducted from the award of damages and accordingly reduced the amount of the jury's award, denied the defendant's motion to set aside the verdict and for a remittitur on future economic damages, and rendered judgment for the plaintiff, from which the defendant appealed to the Appellate Court, Schaller, Freedman and Daly, Js., which reversed in part the trial court's judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings to determine the amount of collateral source payments to be deducted from the jury verdict, and the defendant, on the granting of certification, appealed to this court. Affirmed.
James P. Brennan, for the appellant (defendant).
Kie Westby, for the appellee (plaintiff).
OPINION
The sole issue in this certified appeal is whether the Appellate Court properly concluded that the plaintiff had proven his future medical expenses to a reasonable degree of medical probability. The plaintiff, Edward Brennan, slipped and fell on an icy section of the parking lot at the Burger King restaurant in Watertown. The parking lot was owned by the defendant, Burger King Corporation. The fall caused serious injuries to the plaintiff's right leg, which resulted in it being two inches shorter than his left leg, leaving the plaintiff permanently disabled. Thereafter, the plaintiff brought an action for negligence against the defendant. The case was tried to a jury, which returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of $199,500, of which $40,000 represented future economic damages.
The defendant moved to set aside that portion of the judgment representing future economic damages on the ground that the plaintiff had failed to prove his future medical expenses to a reasonable degree of medical probability. The trial court denied the defendant's motion, and the defendant thereafter appealed to the Appellate Court. The Appellate Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. Brennan v. Burger King Corp., 46 Conn. App. 76, 698 A.2d 364 (1997). We granted the defendant's petition for certification to appeal, limited to the following issue: "Did the Appellate Court properly conclude that the plaintiff had proven future medical expenses to a reasonable probability?" Brennan v. Burger King Corp., 243 Conn. 920, 701 A.2d 340 (1997). Having examined the record on appeal, studied the briefs and heard the arguments of the parties, we conclude that the judgment of the Appellate Court should be affirmed. The issue on which we granted certification was properly resolved in the thoughtful and comprehensive opinion of the Appellate Court. It would serve no useful purpose for us to repeat the discussion contained therein. See Murphy v. Buonato, 241 Conn. 319, 321, 696 A.2d 320 (1997); Gajewski v. Pavelo, 236 Conn. 27, 30, 670 A.2d 318 (1996); Sharp v. Wyatt, Inc., 230 Conn. 12, 16, 644 A.2d 871 (1994).