“ DEFENDANTS' POST-TRIAL MOTIONS Defendants have filed a motion for a new trial. They seek relief from a jury verdict they consider contrary to applicable legal standards and unsupported by relevant evidence. We recognize, as do defendants, that it is the responsibility of the jury to make the ultimate determination of issues of fact. Jurors are entrusted with the responsibility of evaluating often complex and conflicting testimony and arriving at a fair and just verdict. ”

“ To preserve the integrity of the jury system, prospective jurors need to be educated not only about the size of a jury verdict, but also the basis of the verdict and the power of the trial court to rectify inappropriate verdicts. ”

“ A new trial should not be granted because of a mere conflict in testimony or because the trial judge on the same facts would have arrived at a different *393 conclusion. Rather, a new trial should be awarded only when the jury's verdict is so contrary to the evidence as to shock one's sense of justice and a new trial is necessary to rectify the situation. Thompson v. City of Philadelphia, 507 Pa. 586, 493 A.2d 669 (1985) .
Defendants offer two possible explanations for the $600,000 verdict. First, this award might represent compensation for plaintiff's legally proven injuries. ”

“ The Superior Court rejected this contention, finding that although the word "causation" was not specifically mentioned in the answers to interrogatories, defendant should not have been surprised or prejudiced by the expert's testimony concerning causation; thus, the expert's testimony concerning causation was within the fair scope of the answers to interrogatories.
An expert may not, however, testify to a new or different theory of liability. In Wilkes-Barre, the expert stated in his report that propane tank was defective because it lacked a protective collar. ”

“ Some psychics have precognitive dreams; these persons dream of something and then it happens. Although plaintiff has had clairvoyant experiences, her forte was her ability to read auras. An aura is a light or glow that surrounds *384 people and objects. By interpreting the shapes, colors, sizes and flecks of the aura, an aura reader can discover different things about the individual, including things about the subject's past and future.
FN1. "N.T. Excerpt" refers to the separately transcribed testimony of the plaintiff. ”

“ ADMISSION OF TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF'S CLAIM OF LOSS OF PSYCHIC POWERS Defendants next contend that the court erred in admitting the depostion testimony of Lt. Fritzinger, Mary Fritzinger, Robert McCormack, Dr. Millman and Officer Raymond Schellhammer. According to defendants, these depositions constituted hearsay, improper character evidence and improper expert testimony. [FN4] These witnesses corroborated plaintiff's claim that she possessed psychic powers. ”

“ Plaintiff was then driven by a friend to her home in New Castle. Over the next 48 hours, plaintiff experienced vomiting, nausea and headaches. She had welts on her body for three days and hives for two or three weeks. In addition, plaintiff testified that she continues to suffer from headaches and nausea.
Much of plaintiff's testimony concerned her psychic activities and her inability to practice these activities following the CT scan. To read an aura, according to plaintiff, it is necessary to go into an altered state, a state of deep concentration. ”

“ The next argument raised by defendants concerns the tape recordings of the meeting between Schellhammer and plaintiff. Defendants argue that they should have been provided with the tapes prior to the deposition, rather than in the midst of their cross-examination of the witness. Defendants have not demonstrated that they had a right to the tapes. Although they refer to Rule 4003.5, as we discussed earlier, the law enforcement officer was not an expert witness and, therefore, the rule is inapplicable. ”

“ According to defendants, the evidence was relevant to plaintiff's duty to mitigate damages by seeking alternative employment. We disagree. Plaintiff sought compensation for her loss of earning capacity, i.e., the ability to earn money, that she suffered as a result of defendants' negligence. Plaintiff's ability to earn money is not affected by the size of her house or whether or not she has a swimming pool. Thus, the court properly excluded evidence relative to plaintiff's standard of living.
TRIAL JUDGE'S ABSENCE DURING DR. HART'S TESTIMONY During the testimony of defendant Dr. ”

“ In personal-injury cases, although it is sometimes possible for a jury to reasonably infer causation, "it is generally acknowledged that the complexities *389 of the human body place questions as to the cause of pain or injury beyond the knowledge of the average layperson." Id. at 267, 392 A.2d at 1285. Accordingly, plaintiff must present expert medical testimony establishing the causal relationship between defendants' conduct and plaintiff's injury.
The sole expert witness plaintiff called was Dr. Raymond Borota, an otolaryngologist. Dr. ”

“ Whether the injury was healed or whether it will affect a plaintiff permanently. 4. Plaintiff's ability to continue with employment. 5. The disparity between out-of-pocket expenses and the amount of the verdict. Kemp v. Philadelphia Transportation Co., 239 Pa. Super. 379, 382- 85, 361 A.2d 362, 364-66 (1976) .
Applying these factors to the case at bar, we find the verdict grossly excessive. First, plaintiff's compensable injuries consisted of nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, constricture of the throat and the attendant pain and suffering. ”

“ Later that afternoon, after keeping an appointment with another physician, plaintiff was driven home. Upon arriving home, she "went to bed and stayed there." She vomited for the first 48 hours. The welts which had surfaced on plaintiff's body lasted three days. The hives lasted two weeks, except in the areas where plaintiff scratched them. Plaintiff remained in bed for weeks, affected by nausea. ”

“ Rather, the determination must be made with reference to the particular facts and circumstances of each case. The controlling principle which must guide us is whether the purpose of Rule 4003.5 is being served. ”

“ On or about November 8, 1982, plaintiff supplied defendants with a report prepared by Dr. Borota. In this report, Dr. Borota recounted that plaintiff had been evaluated for acoustic neurinoma and von Recklinghausen's disease; that plaintiff had had a myelogram in Philadelphia; that prior to the administration of the dye, she informed the doctor that she was allergic to dye; that she had an anaphylactoid reaction to the dye; that since the dye study she has suffered from severe headaches; that Dr. ”