Stephen Comella vs. City of Memphis

This is a personal injury case involving the on-the-job injury of a police officer working for the City of Memphis. The city admitted liability. After a bench trial on the issue of damages, the trial court awarded the plaintiff a judgment of $25,000. The plaintiff appeals, arguing that the trial court erred by treating this as a worker's compensation case rather than a negligence case. Plaintiff also argues that the trial court erred by not granting his request for discretionary costs to pay for expert witness fees. We affirm, finding that the evidence supports the trial court's award and that there was no abuse of discretion in declining to order the city to pay the plaintiff's expert witness fees.