George Bennett Motor Express, Inc. v. Safeco Life Insurance

575 F. Supp. 449, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14254
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedAugust 29, 1983
DocketNo. C82-1426A
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 575 F. Supp. 449 (George Bennett Motor Express, Inc. v. Safeco Life Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
George Bennett Motor Express, Inc. v. Safeco Life Insurance, 575 F. Supp. 449, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14254 (N.D. Ga. 1983).

Opinion

ORDER

MOYE, Chief Judge.

Before the Court in the above-styled insurance policy dispute are cross-motions for total and/or partial summary judgment. A factual and procedural background of the case is set out below.

Background

The plaintiff on June 2, 1982, filed a complaint in the Superior Court of Henry County, which was removed to this Court, seeking proceeds of a safety and accident insurance policy issued by the defendant, Safeco Life Insurance Company, covering John David Garrison in the amount of $100,000, plus statutory damages in the amount of $25,000 plus attorney’s fees and costs. The insurance policy in pertinent part provides that when injuries of the insured result in the loss of life, then Safe-co will pay to the beneficiary the principal sum set forth in the policy. The insurance policy in the exclusions section provides in pertinent part that the policy does not cover loss resulting from disease or any type of hernia. The owner and beneficiary of the insurance policy is the plaintiff, George Bennett Motor Express, Inc. At the time of his death, John David Garrison was the president of the plaintiff corporation. Further, the premiums on the insurance policy had been paid and the insurance policy was in full force and effect.

While on a business trip to Houston, Texas, Mr. Garrison and Mrs. Garrison noted a billboard advertising the Physician’s Nicotine Clinic. Because Mr. Garrison was interested in breaking the habit of smoking, Mrs. Garrison called the clinic and learned that the doctor who ran the clinic had practiced at the Mayo Clinic and that the clinic assisted persons to stop smoking by administering injections in the ear, nose and neck. Mr. Garrison decided to have [451]*451the injection therapy so on Tuesday, April 28, 1981, he went to the clinic where x-rays were taken, blood work was performed, an electrocardiogram was taken, and injections were administered to his ear, nose and neck. During the week following the injections, Mr. Garrison was abnormally agitated, nervous, incoherent, and tired. On Wednesday evening, May 6, 1981, Mr. Garrison had chills, a fever, and terrible pains in the back of his neck. Mr. Garrison was rushed to the emergency room at Crawford Long Hospital. At the hospital, Mr. Garrison’s condition continued to deteriorate. His blood pressure was erratic; his throat swelled so much that the physicians were forced to perform an emergency tracheotomy; and his head swelled severely, nearly forcing his eyes shut. On the morning of May 9, 1981, eleven (11) days after the injections in Houston, Mr. Garrison died.

An autopsy was performed on May 10, 1981, by Dr. John Richard Feegel, Associate Chief Medical Examiner for Fulton County, Georgia, who concluded, as reflected on the autopsy report that the cause of death of Mr. Garrison was “gram negative septicemia due to cellulitus of neck due to injection therapy.” Dr. Feegel, consequently, concluded that the “death of [Mr. Garrison] was caused by a disease.” Feegel Deposition, p. 31. It appears that no pre-existing disease or medical or bodily infirmity existed in Mr. Garrison at the time of the injections caused or contributed in any way to the infection which caused Mr. Garrison’s death. See the Plaintiff’s Statement of Material Facts as to Which it Contends There is no Genuine Issue to be Tried [Plaintiff’s Statement of Undisputed Facts] p. 6, 1124; and the May 23, 1983 Response by Defendant to the Plaintiff's Statement of Undisputed Facts [Defendant’s Response to the Plaintiff’s Statement of Undisputed Facts], p. 1, 111. Based upon the autopsy, a conversation with Dr. Bahynsky, who administered the injection therapy in Houston, and a review of the Crawford Long Hospital records, Dr. Fee-gel opined that either a contaminated drug that was injected into Mr. Garrison or what laymen call a “dirty needle” caused the infection which in turn caused the death of Mr. Garrison. Feegel Deposition, p. 25. Based upon assumptions that Mr. Garrison did not intend to contract the fatal infection and that Dr. Bachynsky did not intend to create the fatal infection, and upon the specific circumstances of this case, Dr. Fee-gel concluded that the loss of life of Mr. Garrison was not due to suicide, homicide or natural death; rather, he determined that the demise of Mr. Garrison was due to an “accidental death.” Feegel Deposition, p. 31.

While analyzing the pending motions for summary judgment, the Court recognizes that many of the facts are undisputed. However, the Court notes that the plaintiff disputes whether the infection which caused the death of Mr. Garrison should be classified as a “disease” under the policy. The defendant disputes conclusions reached by Dr. Feegel, who performed the autopsy, which were founded upon conversations with or assumptions concerning Dr. Bachynsky, who performed the injection therapy, on the grounds that Dr. Feegel has no personal knowledge of what occurred in Houston and that Dr. Feegel relies on hearsay as to the contents of the infections. Furthermore, the defendant disputes how the fatal infection entered the body of Mr. Garrison. The defendant further objects to the assumptions relied on by the plaintiff and Dr. Feegel with regard to the intentions of Dr. Bachynsky and Mr. Garrison concerning the injections on the ground that there is no evidence in the record to establish the intentions of those persons for purposes of summary judgment. The facts in dispute are essential to the outcome of this action. In addressing the motions for summary judgment, the Court will consider the facts in a light most favorable to the non-movant.

Motions for Summary Judgment

The Court notes that the standard for summary judgment requires an inquiry into the merits of the parties’ claims. Un[452]*452der Fed.R.Civ.P. 56, the party seeking summary judgment bears the exacting burden of demonstrating that there is no actual dispute as to any material fact. Warrior Tombigbee Transportation Co., Inc. v. M/V Nan Fung, 695 F.2d 1294, 1296 (11th Cir.1983), Impossible Electronics Techniques, Inc. v. Wakenhut Protective Systems, Inc., 669 F.2d 1026 (5th Cir.1982). Summary judgment should be granted when it is clear what the truth is, and when no genuine issue remains for trial. National Screen Services Corp. v. Poster Exchange, Inc., 305 F.2d 647 (5th Cir.1962). In assessing whether the party moving for summary judgment has borne his burden of demonstrating want of actual dispute as to a material fact, the court should view all evidence introduced and all factual inferences from that evidence in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, and all reasonable doubts about the facts should be resolved in favor of the nonmoving litigant. Impossible Electronics, supra, 669 F.2d at 1031. However, denials or allegations by the nonmoving party in the form of legal conclusions unsupported by specific facts have no probable value and are thus insufficient to create issues of material fact that would preclude summary judgment. SEC v. Bonastia, 614 F.2d 908, 914 (3rd Cir.1980); Broadway v. City of Montgomery,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Republic of Haiti v. Crown Charters, Inc.
667 F. Supp. 839 (S.D. Florida, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
575 F. Supp. 449, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14254, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/george-bennett-motor-express-inc-v-safeco-life-insurance-gand-1983.