Section 9 Standards of Causation and Proof for Future Damages

• Library: Damages 2012

The plaintiff must prove by substantial evidence that the plaintiff will suffer future consequences that are causally related to the defendant’s negligence. Creech v. Riss & Co., 285 S.W.2d 554 (Mo. 1955); Derschow v. St. Louis Pub. Serv. Co., 95 S.W.2d 1173 (Mo. 1936). The future loss complained of must be the natural and proximate consequence of the wrongful act, and the proof of it does not need to rise to the level of absolute certainty. Lewis v. Hubert, 532 S.W.2d 860 (Mo. App. W.D. 1975); D.E. Ytreberg, Annotation, Sufficiency of Evidence, in Personal Injury Action, to Prove Future Pain and Suffering and to Warrant Instructions to Jury Thereon, 18 A.L.R. 3d 10 (1968).

“[T]he rule against uncertain or contingent damages applies . . . to such damages as are not the certain results of the wrong . . . .” Moore v. St. Louis Sw. Ry. Co., 301 S.W.2d 395, 403 (Mo. App. S.D. 1957). Future damages must be “reasonably certain” to have resulted from the injury. Waddell v. Metro. St. Ry. Co., 88 S.W. 765, 767 (Mo. App. W.D. 1905); O’Neil v. Pullman Co., 260 S.W. 798 (Mo. App. E.D. 1924). “The standard for recovering for future consequences requires evidence of such a degree of probability of those future events occurring as to amount to reasonable certainty.” Seabaugh v. Milde Farms, Inc., 816 S.W.2d 202, 210–11 (Mo. banc 1991) (citing Derschow,95 S.W.2d at 1175, and Lebrecht v. United Rys. Co. of St. Louis, 237 S.W. 112, 114 (Mo. 1921)).

To recover future damages, the plaintiff must prove both that foreseen consequences are reasonably certain...