" Rucker v. Garlock, Inc., 672 So.2d 100, 102 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) ; see also Talucci, 960 So.2d at 10 ("The right to contest unliquidated damages in any negligence action encompasses the right to challenge the causal relationship between the damages claimed and the liability established by the default."); Leal v. Waterproofing Sys. of Miami, Inc., 812 So.2d 473, 473 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002) (holding that a defendant against whom a directed verdict on liability had been entered had the right to contest the issue of recovery for diagnostic bills). The requirement to show some "connexity" between the defendant's conduct and the claimant's damages is consistent with the law of damages.
There was unrefuted evidence that Elena's left knee did impact the dashboard in this accident; she had objectively visible black and blue contusions to this knee after the impact; she sought and obtained medical diagnostic treatment immediately after the accident and incurred reasonable expenses for such treatment; and some diagnostic tests were appropriate. Therefore, even if the jury ultimately concluded that she had a pre-existing knee condition, which was the cause of her claimed injuries, there was no basis for the jury to decline to award her at least the costs of those medical diagnostic tests deemed reasonably necessary to determine whether the accident, in fact, caused her injuries. Leal v. Waterproofing Sys. of Miami Inc., 812 So.2d 473 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002) (even where there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find that plaintiffs neck injuries pre-existed the accident, the trial court erred in denying his motion for directed verdict on the issue of recovery for diagnostic bills); Sparks-Book v. Sports Auth., Inc., 699 So.2d 767 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997) (where it was undisputed that paramedics were called to the scene of the accident and the plaintiff was taken to the emergency room for x-rays, the plaintiff was at a minimum entitled to recover those medical expenses incurred for diagnostic testing to determine whether accident caused her injuries); Blanford v. Polk County, 410 So.2d 667 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982) (although jury could have found that plaintiff was not injured as a result of accident based upon his prior written statement to that effect he was at least entitled to recovery of undisputed medical expenses incurred for diagnostic testing purposes); Peek v. Stevens, 395 So.2d 617 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981) (although there was a definite cont