Grand Leader Dry Goods Co. v. Caveness

424 S.W.2d 270, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2964
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided January 24, 1968·No. No. 61·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

BARRON, Justice.

This is a damage suit filed by Kathryn M. Caveness and husband, Buster Caveness, against Grand Leader Dry Goods Company, Inc., for injuries sustained by Mrs. Caveness by reason of the alleged negligence of the defendant, on April 21, 1965. On a jury verdict on special issues, the trial court rendered judgment for plaintiffs for $9,070.00.

The jury found: Mrs. Caveness did sustain such injury; Mrs. Bradshaw, a store employee, was negligent in falling over a filing cabinet drawer in the store; in leaving the drawer pulled out the defendant was negligent; the filing cabinet was located where it could not be used with safety and such was negligence; defendant failed to furnish plaintiff a safe place to work and as such was negligent; plaintiff’s injuries were not the result of an unavoidable accident. The jury also found that each act of negligence was a proximate cause of the injuries sustained by Mrs. Caveness.

The facts are somewhat unusual. Mrs. Caveness and Mrs. Bradshaw were each [272] saleswomen or clerks employed by and working in Grand Leader Dry Goods Company, Inc. store at Huntsville, Texas. For several years prior to the accident, the store owned and used a display counter near the wall of the store, behind which was a filing cabinet near the end of the counter. The evidence shows that the filing cabinet was approximately 18½ inches in back of the display counter when the drawers of the cabinet were closed, leaving only a narrow space through which employees could pass while working. On the day of the accident, the top drawer of the cabinet had been left open causing the passageway to become almost blocked. The top of the drawer left open was approximately 2⅝⅛ feet from the floor. It had been left open either by a janitor in the employ of the store or by Mrs. Bradshaw herself, who seldom used the filing cabinet but who had used it that day. Mrs. Bradshaw, while walking in back of the display counter a short time later, suddenly fell over the open filing cabinet. Her leg was caught between the top drawer and the display counter, causing both legs to be pinned or wedged. The drawer, or the drawer and the counter, severely cut her leg and apparently severed an artery causing profuse bleeding. While Mrs. Bradshaw was apparently helpless and her legs caught between the cabinet and the counter, and while she was lying face-up over the top drawer, Mrs. Caveness ran to help her. From plaintiff’s testimony, the only thought she had was to try to move the display counter, which was a heavy one, weighing several hundred pounds. She did succeed in moving the counter enough to free Mrs. Bradshaw from the wedged condition she was in, but in doing so, she severely injured her back, which in turn caused pain in her hip and the right leg. Extended hospitalization and treatment were required. Emergency treatment was given to Mrs. Bradshaw and she was immediately taken to the hospital. No attack is made upon the amount of damages sustained by Mrs. Caveness and found by the jury.

The evidence shows that Mrs. Caveness, prior to the accident, had discussed the matter of the narrow space caused by the filing cabinet, and that she had told the manager of the store, Louie Cohn, that the counter was too close to the wall for safety.

The record further shows that the defendant store was within the provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation Act and that it had about five employees, but that the defendant had no policy of Workmen’s Compensation. Therefore, under the terms of Art. 8306, Secs. 1 and 4, defendant was deprived of its defenses such as contributory negligence, negligence of a fellow servant and assumed risk. Sears Roebuck & Co. v. Robinson, 154 Tex. 336, 280 S.W.2d 238 (Tex.Sup.); Grace Mfg. Co. v. Arp, 311 S.W.2d 278, 282 (Tex.Civ.App.), writ ref., n. r. e.

The defendant-appellant attacks the judgment of the trial court and the findings of the jury (omitting certain points of error on assumed risk and the fellow servant rule), on the grounds that the jury findings of negligence are not sustained by the evidence and that the jury was guilty of misconduct. We take the first point regarding negligence to mean and to include proximate cause since defendant argues the point both ways. We believe it is clear enough that defendant contends that as a matter of law, the injuries to Mrs. Caveness could not have been proximately caused by the negligence of the defendant as found by the jury.

The law is settled that the evidence must show negligence and must also show that such negligence was a proximate and not a remote cause of the resulting injuries. The evidence must justify the conclusion that such injury was the natural and probable result thereof. In order to justify such a conclusion, the evidence must justify a finding that the party committing the negligent act or acts ought to have foreseen the consequences thereof in the light [273] of the attendant circumstances. In spite of the above rule of law, it is not required that the particular accident complained of should have been foreseen. All that is required is that the injury be of such a general character as might reasonably have been anticipated; and that the injured party should be so situated with relation to the wrongful act that injury to him or to one similarly situated might reasonably have been foreseen. Carey v. Pure Distributing Corp., 133 Tex. 31, 124 S.W.2d 847, 849 (Tex.Sup.) ; Missouri-Kansas-Texas R. Co. of Texas v. McLain, 126 S.W.2d 474 (Tex. Sup.); Motsenbocker v. Wyatt, 369 S.W.2d 319, 323 (Tex.Sup.).

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Grand Leader Dry Goods Co. v. Caveness, 424 S.W.2d 270, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2964 (Tex. Ct. App. 1968).

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