Freeman v. Washington Parish Fire District 6

181 So. 3d 91, 2015 La.App. 1 Cir. 0273, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1734, 2015 WL 5480171
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 18, 2015
DocketNo. 2015 CA 0273
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 181 So. 3d 91 (Freeman v. Washington Parish Fire District 6) 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
Freeman v. Washington Parish Fire District 6, 181 So. 3d 91, 2015 La.App. 1 Cir. 0273, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1734, 2015 WL 5480171 (La. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

PETTIGREW, J.

|Jn this personal injury suit arising out of an intersectional collision between an ambulance and a vehicle that occurred December 4, 2008, the plaintiff, an EMT who was a passenger in the ambulance and injured as a result of the. collision, appeals a judgment rendered in accordance with a jury verdict. The jury verdict found no liability on the part of the defendants, Richard Seal, the volunteer firefighter who was driving .the ambulance; Washington Parish Fire District # 6 (WPFD); .and its insurer, American Alternative Insurance Corporation (AAIC). The plaintiff, contending there is no reasonable basis in the record for the jury’s findings and that the jury verdict is manifestly erroneous, seeks reversal of that judgment, and a remand, for a determination of the amount of damages due.

FACTUAL SUMMARY AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On December 4, 2008, in the early afternoon, defendant Richard Seal and his friend Ben Ritter, both volunteer firefighters for WPFD, were riding together, in Seal’s truck in Bogalusa, Louisiana, when they received notice of a “man down” Code 81 medical emergency at a home in nearby Varnado, Louisiana. Although Mr. Seal and Mr. Ritter were off duty and on a personal mission, they responded to the call and proceeded to the location of the medical emergency. ■ When they arrived, they observed other responding firefighters who* had arrived before them administering CPR to.Mr. Sanderson, who was lying on the floor,, unresponsive. .

Mr. Seal and Mr. Ritter took over administering CPR, in order to give the other firefighters a break, and continued doing so, until Randy Kirkland, a paramedic, and the plaintiff, Jeremy Freeman, an EMT, arrived in an Advanced Care Ambulance. Mr. Kirkland and Mr. Freeman [94]*94then took over CPR, used a defibrillator, and loaded Mr. Sanderson onto a stretcher and into the back of the ambulance, where they would continue resuscitation efforts in route to the nearest hospital. (Although Mr. Sanderson remained |snonresponsive, Mr. Freeman testified that the paramedic, Mr. Kirkland, after speaking with Mr. Sanderson's wife, made the decision to continue the response as a Code 3 emergency and that he and Mr. Freeman would ride in the back of the ambulance and continue resuscitation efforts on Mr. Sand-erson.) The paramedic asked for a firefighter to volunteer and drive the ambulance, as is frequently done when both the paramedic and EMT are needed in the back of the ambulance. Mr. Seal, who was trained and qualified to drive fire trucks and other emergency fire vehicles, volunteered, and proceeded to drive the ambulance to the hospital.2 (Mr. Ritter, driving Mr. Seal’s truck, followed behind the ambulance.)

The ambulance had both its emergency lights and sirens engaged, as required by the Code 3 designation of the emergency. Mr. Seal proceeded to drive the ambulance southbound on La. Highway 21 (Hwy 21). When the ambulance reached and entered the intersection of Hwy. 21 and La. Highway 10 (Hwy. 10), it was struck in the right rear by a blue Honda that was trav-elling eastbound on Hwy. 10 and had also proceeded into the intersection. The force of the collision caused the ambulance to tilt over on two wheels, then bounce back onto four wheels, and slide, until it collided with a second vehicle — a white Nissan that was stopped at the traffic light in the northbound lane of Hwy. 21 (opposite the lane in which the ambulance had been driving).

As a result of the initial impact with the Honda, Mr. Freeman, who had been seated, unrestrained, in the “captain’s chair” was injured as a result of being thrown around in the back of the ambulance. On December 3, 2009, Mr. Freeman filed suit to recover damages for those injuries.

Several defendants were named in the original and ensuing supplemental petitions; however, at the time of trial, the only remaining defendants were Mr. Seal, pWPFD, and its insurer, AAIC. Following a six-day trial, the jury rendered a verdict on March 3, 2014, in favor of the defendants. Specifically, the jury responded affirmatively to the following verdict interrogatories:

Interrogatory No. 1
Do you find that the ambulance driven by Richard Seal was responding to an emergency call?
Interrogatory No. 2
Do you find that the ambulance’s audible or visual signals were sufficient to warn motorists of its approach?
Interrogatory No. 3
Do you find that Richard Seal slowed or stopped the ambulance at the intersection of Hwy 10 & 21 as may be necessary for the operation of the ambulance and the safety of all persons?

Having answered “yes” to the first three interrogatories, the jury was then instructed to answer Interrogatory 10:

[95]*95Do you find that Richard Seal acted with reckless disregard for the safety of others on December 4, 2008? ■

The jury responded “no,” and was directed by the verdict form to have it signed by the jury foreperson. In accordance therewith, a judgment was signed April 13, 2014, in favor of the defendants, Richard Seal, Washington Parish Fire District # 6, and American Alternative Insurance' Corporation, and against the plaintiff, Jeremy Freeman, dismissing his lawsuit at his cost. On May 13, 2014, the judgment was revised to indicate that each party would bear its own costs. It is from that judgment that Mr. Freeman appeals. After the May 13, 2014 judgment was rendered, Mr. Freeman filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or in the alternative, a new trial, which was denied by the district court on July 16, 2014.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

It is well settled that a court of appeal may not set aside a jury’s finding of fact in the absence of manifest error or unless it is clearly wrong, and reasonable inferences of fact should not be disturbed upon review, even though the appellate court may feel its own evaluations and inferences are reasonable. Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840, 844 (La.1989); Kirby v. State ex rel. Louisiana State University Bd. of Sup’rs, 2014 WL 5791567, p. 5, 2014-0017 (La.App. 1 Cir. 11/7/14), 174 So.3d 1.

The supreme court has announced a two-part test for the reversal of a fact finder’s determinations: (1) the appellate court must find from the record that a reasonable factual basis does not exist for the finding of the trial court, and (2) the appellate court must further determine that the record establishes that the finding is clearly wrong (manifestly erroneous). Stobart v. State, through Department of Transportation and Development, 617 So.2d 880, 882 (La.1993); Mart v. Hill, 505 So.2d 1120, 1127 (La.1987). Thus, the issue to be resolved by a reviewing court is not whether the trier-of-faet was right or wrong, but whether the fact finder’s conclusion was a reasonable one. Stobart, 617 So.2d at 882. Where factual findings are based on determinations regarding the credibility of witnesses, the trier-of-fact’s findings demand great deference. Boudreaux v. Jeff, 2003-1932, p. 9 (La.App. 1 Cir. 9/17/04), 884 So.2d 665, 671; Secret Cove, L.L.C. v. Thomas, 2002-2498, pp. 6-7 (La.App. 1 Cir. 11/7/03), 862 So.2d 1010, 1016, writ denied, 2004-0447 (La.4/2/04), 869 So.2d 889.

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Bluebook (online)
181 So. 3d 91, 2015 La.App. 1 Cir. 0273, 2015 La. App. LEXIS 1734, 2015 WL 5480171, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/freeman-v-washington-parish-fire-district-6-lactapp-2015.