TENTATIVE 

Plaintiff seeks $20,732 in special damages and $100,000 in general damages, for the principal sum of $120,732, against Defendants Elani Express, Inc. and Yeghish Manukyan, jointly and severally.  

Plaintiff avers she suffered severe back, neck, and shoulder pain from the motor vehicle incident, wherein she received physical therapy, radiological studies, and epidural injections. Plaintiff provides she incurred medical expenses of $20,732 and sustained $3,039.51 in property damage.  

Plaintiff submits sufficient evidence to support the claim for $20,732 in special damages. Plaintiff further provides records for property damage. However, Plaintiff does not seek property damage as part of her special damages computation in CIV-100 and JUD-100, and neither is property damage indicated on the Statement of Damages. Therefore, no claim for property damage will be awarded.   

As for general damages, Plaintiff declares she suffers from discomforts and daily limitations, in addition to loss of enjoyment of life. However, the records Plaintiff provides do not evidence the extent of Plaintiff’s averred pain and suffering. The radiological impressions from 2018 indicate that Plaintiff’s shoulder has mild degenerative changes, that her lumbar spine has mild loss of lordotic curvature with degenerative changes noted at L5-S1 level, and that her cervical lordotic curvature was likely due to muscle spasm with degenerative changes. Furthermore, Plaintiff’s thoracic spine demonstrated no evidence of compression fracture, and degenerative changes were seen with marginal osteophytes. 

As of December 12, 2018, Plaintiff complained of slight insomnia due to her right shoulder, with moderate right shoulder pain and stiffness, and moderate back pain and stiffness. Plaintiff provides no records outside of the year of the injury, and thus there is no support for the claims of severe emotional distress and psychological disorders arising from the incident, or of lingering injuries to the extent claimed. 

Given the absence of supporting documentation, the Court will reduce Plaintiff’s request for general damages of $100,000 to $62,196.¿¿ 

The request for default judgment submitted on June 21, 2023 is GRANTED for the total amount of $82,928 against Defendants Elani Express, Inc. and Yeghish Manukyan, jointly and severally.¿¿¿ 

Plaintiff is ordered to give notice of this ruling.¿¿¿¿