Gary Dean Bullard v. Dina M. Alfonso, 267 Va. 743

Summary

The Supreme Court of Virginia held that compensation paid by an employer to an employee during a period of disability is a collateral source and may not diminish the employee's provable damages for lost income. The court further held that evidence of the employee's income loss was admissible, while evidence of the employer's reimbursement was barred by Virginia Code § 8.01-35. The judgment was reversed and the case remanded for a new trial limited to damages.

Holdings

1. Under Virginia's collateral-source rule and Code § 8.01-35, compensation paid by an employer to an employee during the employee's period of disability is not deductible from the damages owed by the tortfeasor.
2. Evidence of Bullard's loss of income was admissible, and the fact that his employer reimbursed him through continued salary payments could not be admitted into evidence.
3. The judgment had to be reversed and the case remanded for a new trial limited to the issue of damages.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Virginia's collateral-source rule and Code § 8.01-35 permit a personal-injury plaintiff to present evidence of lost income when the plaintiff's employer continued paying the plaintiff's salary during the period of disability.
2. Whether the trial court improperly excluded Bullard's evidence of lost income and whether the proper remedy was a new trial limited to damages.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded