Plaintiff filed suit following a head injury that allegedly occurred as a result of an automobile accident. The trial court awarded the plaintiff special damages related to the evaluation and ultimate treatment for seizures. On appeal, however, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal disagreed with the trial court and found that plaintiff did not prove by a preponderance of the evidence that his seizures were related to the underlying accident. The court further concluded that special damages were not warranted for non-diagnostic expenses related to the seizures.

Nevertheless, the court did allow plaintiff to recover medical expenses he incurred during the hospital visit four days post-accident wherein he first complained of seizure-related activity. According to the appellate court, it was certainly reasonable for the plaintiff to seek medical consultation and undergo related diagnostic testing to determine the nature and cause of the seizure-related activity, even though it turned out later that the seizure-related activity was not related to the subject automobile accident.

Reed v. LaCombe