New trial after no award for pain and suffering

In a recent decision stemming from the Pierce County Superior Court case, Meinhart v. Anaya, the plaintiffs prevailed at a jury trial and the jury awarded the plaintiffs nearly all of their requested medical expenses, but for some reason, the jury declined to award the plaintiffs any noneconomic damages (pain and suffering). The plaintiffs’ attorney requested a new trial based on this unusual verdict, but the court denied the request. On appeal, the court held that because “[t]here was no evidence from which the jury could have concluded that [the plaintiffs] suffered no pain and suffering” that the “trial court abused its discretion in denying the [plaintiffs’] motion for a new trial.”