Carreras v. Jefferson Parish Hospital Service District No. 2

96 So. 3d 566, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 1163, 2012 WL 1867366, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 693
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 22, 2012
DocketNo. 11-CA-1163
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 96 So. 3d 566 (Carreras v. Jefferson Parish Hospital Service District No. 2) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carreras v. Jefferson Parish Hospital Service District No. 2, 96 So. 3d 566, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 1163, 2012 WL 1867366, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 693 (La. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

ROBERT A. CHAISSON, Judge.

12This is an appeal by Michael Paul Carreras and Julie Carreras, plaintiffs-appellants, from a judgment in favor of Jefferson Parish Hospital Service District Number 2, d/b/a/East Jefferson General Hospital, defendant-appellee, in this slip and fall case. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On January 19, 2004, Michael Carreras and his wife Julie were at East Jefferson General Hospital where their daughter was to undergo surgery. When she was taken to the operating room, the Carreras-es went down to the hospital cafeteria for breakfast. Mrs. Carreras got her tray of food and proceeded toward the cashier, where she ran into an acquaintance ahead of her in line and began chatting. Mr. Carreras also got a tray of food and then stopped at the beverage ¡¡¡counter for a glass of milk. As he turned toward the cashier, he slipped on some butter and jelly on the floor and fell.

The cafeteria staff immediately went to his assistance and notified hospital security of the accident. Rene Edwards, Supervisor of Security, testified that he got the initial call at 8:15 a.m., and reached the cafeteria at 8:20 a.m. By the time he arrived, the cafeteria staff had already cleaned the floor, but he observed butter and jelly on Mr. Carreras’s shoe. He took a statement from Mr. Carreras and offered to take him to the emergency room. Mr. Carreras said that he wanted to finish breakfast, so Mr. Edwards went back to his office. He got a second call informing him that Mr. Carreras was ready to go to the emergency room, so he returned to the cafeteria at 8:47 a.m., placed Mr. Carreras in a wheel chair, and brought him to the emergency room. The emergency room record shows that he was admitted at 9:16 a.m. There is no dispute that the accident occurred and that there was butter and jelly on the floor.

The proceeding was bifurcated, and the issue of liability was tried before the judge. There was a dispute in the case as to the precise time that the accident occurred. Both Mr. Carreras and his wife testified that the accident happened at about 8:45 a.m. They based this estimate on their recollection that their daughter was taken to the operating room at about 8:00 a.m., and that they then had a discussion about going down to breakfast. They both estimated that by the time they had actually decided to go down to the cafeteria, plus the time spent selecting food and proceeding to the cashier, that it must have been close to 8:45 a.m. Rene Edwards, the security person, testified that he drew up his report of the incident before leaving work that day. That report showed that he got the first call at 8:15 a.m. and arrived at the scene at 8:20 a.m. He then left while Mr. Carreras ate [4breakfast, and was then called a second time and arrived in the cafeteria at 8:47 a.m.

Another issue involves whether there were other people in the cafeteria at the timé that might have dropped the butter and jelly. Again, Mr. Carreras and his wife testified that there was no one else in the area where the slip occurred, the implication being that the foreign substances had been present for a significant period of time. However, Mrs. Carreras also testified that there was an acquaintance of hers in line for the cashier, and that she was chatting with her when Mr. Carreras fell. She also testified that she did not see any butter or jelly on this person’s tray. Latoya Shine, a cafeteria worker who was working at the grill on the morning in question, testified that when Mr. Carreras fell she started to go to his aid, but there were several workers who got to him first. [568]*568She said that she had about ten people m line at the time, so she returned to her work station. She also said that between 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. the cafeteria is usually very busy.

The hospital introduced its Policy and Procedures Manual which contained instructions for cashiers in the cafeteria to inspect the floors every half hour. It was also shown that a log was kept at the cashier station which the cashiers had to initial after each half hour inspection. The log for the day in question was initialed for each pertinent half hour by the cashier on duty that day. Ms. Shine testified that the half hour checks were always done by either the cashiers or the “bussers,” and she remembered that the checks were done by the cashier on the morning in question at 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. She also said that newly hired people were given the safety handbook which emphasized keeping the floors safe, and that additional safety meetings were conducted every two months.

Shirley Moore, the cashier on duty, testified by way of deposition. Her recollection of events was uncertain, and she often stated that she could not |flremember the details of the incident. It was clear that she remembered being on duty that morning. It was also clear that she did not see Mr. Carreras fall, and that she could not see the floor where he fell from her position at the cash register. She was less certain about the half hour inspections. She said that there was another cashier on duty that morning and that this person had taken a break at 7:55 a.m. or 8:00 a.m. She thought that she had made an inspection right before the other cashier took her break. She was uncertain about when the other cashier returned, but said that it was probably a half hour later, and that she would have made the 8:30 a.m. inspection after the other cashier got back. Later in her testimony she said that she did make the 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. inspections timely as indicated by her initials on the log. In none of her inspections did she observe any foreign substances on the floor. She also said that she did not remember seeing other people in the area where the fall occurred for some time before it happened.

On the basis of the above evidence, the trial judge found that plaintiffs had failed to show that the defendant hospital had actual or constructive knowledge of the foreign substances on the floor. She particularly noted that Ms. Moore had not found butter or jelly on the floor during her 8:00 a.m. inspection, and that because she could not see the area of the fall from her position at the register she would not have been able to observe any subsequently dropped substances. She further found that plaintiffs had not shown that the foreign substances were on the floor for such a time that with reasonable diligence the hospital would have discovered them. It is implicit in the above findings that she found that the accident occurred at 8:15 a.m. as shown in the security report and testified to by Rene Edwards. She accordingly entered judgment in the hospital’s favor, and this appeal followed.

| fiLAW AND ANALYSIS

In their first assignment of error, plaintiffs contend that the district court erred in finding that the merchant’s slip and fall law contained in La. R.S. 9:2800.6 applied to this case. We agree that La. R.S. 9:2800.6 is not applicable to this case. However, it is apparent that the trial court’s reference to that statute was inadvertent. Immediately after referencing La. R.S. 9:2800.6, the trial judge referenced this court’s decision in Blount v. East Jefferson General Hospital, 04-407 (La.App. 5 Cir. 10/12/04), 887 So.2d 535, which we find is the proper controlling [569]*569authority, and conducted her analysis in accordance with the legal precepts contained therein.

East Jefferson Parish Hospital Service district Number 2 is a public entity and is therefore subject to the provisions of La. R.S. 9:2800, which provides in pertinent part:

B.

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Bluebook (online)
96 So. 3d 566, 11 La.App. 5 Cir. 1163, 2012 WL 1867366, 2012 La. App. LEXIS 693, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carreras-v-jefferson-parish-hospital-service-district-no-2-lactapp-2012.