Vinicky v. Midland Mutual Casualty Insurance

Were the damages awarded, to Smaha excessive ?

The trial judge found that the damages were not excessive. We have previously held that:

“The trial judge has an advantage over the appellate court in that he not only sees and hears the testimony, which we can only read from the transcript, but he also has the same opportunity to observe the injured person as does the jury.” Makowski v. Ehlenbach (1960), 11 Wis. (2d) 38, 43, 103 N. W. (2d) 907.

In the recent case of Bentzler v. Braun (1967), 34 Wis. (2d) 362, 389, 149 N. W. (2d) 626, we quoted with approval the statement appearing in Ballard v.…