Hanna v. Roussel

803 So. 2d 261, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 2919
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 5, 2001
DocketNo. 35,346-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 803 So. 2d 261 (Hanna v. Roussel) 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
Hanna v. Roussel, 803 So. 2d 261, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 2919 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

11 CARAWAY, Judge.

In this auto/pedestrian accident, defendants appeal an adverse judgment from the trial court, finding the defendant-insured 100% at fault for plaintiffs personal injuries. Defendants complain that the trial court erred in failing to assign the plaintiff with any fault, that the trial court incorrectly admitted evidence of the insured’s other traffic citations, and that the trial court’s award of general damages was [263]*263abusively high. Finding that the trial court’s rulings were correct, we affirm.

Facts

This suit arises out of an auto/pedestrian accident which occurred at the intersection of Texas and Market Streets in downtown Shreveport. During the noon lunch hour on November 4, 1999, plaintiff, Ella R. Hanna (“Hanna”), was walking south on Market Street, towards her place of employment and was attempting to cross Texas Street. While in the crosswalk, Hanna was struck by a small pickup truck driven by the defendant, Jason C. Roussel (“Roussel”), age seventeen at the time of the accident.

Roussel was driving south on Market Street which is a four-lane, one-way street. He stopped at the red light at the intersection in the outside lane of the east side of Market Street. When the light turned green, he slowly moved forward into the intersection preparing to turn left (east) onto Texas Street. Before completing his left turn, Roussel crossed the two westbound lanes of Texas Street and waited for a northbound pedestrian to cross the two eastbound lanes. The northbound pedestrian was therefore walking in | ¡¡the opposite direction of Hanna. After the other pedestrian crossed the eastbound lanes of Texas Street, Roussel began his left turn.

While Roussel was waiting to turn left onto Texas Street, Hanna was crossing Texas Street. Hanna was behind and to Roussel’s left, out of his line of vision, when he attempted to complete his left turn onto Texas Street. As Roussel’s truck was making the left turn and starting to head east, the driver’s side mirror of Roussel’s truck struck Hanna. Roussel and his insurer, United Agents Insurance Company (“United”), argue that Hanna walked into the side rearview mirror and fell to the ground.

Paramedics tended to Hanna at the scene of the accident. When Hanna’s employer arrived at the accident scene, he drove her to Schumpert Medical Center, where she was examined and released. Hanna reported general soreness and scraped hands. The emergency room physician’s diagnoses were: 1) left foot contusion/sprain; 2) lumbar strain; and 3) bilateral hand contusion and abrasions. Hanna never sought any further medical treatment. Hanna’s medical expenses totaled $694.15.

The evidence adduced at trial revealed that Hanna returned to work the same afternoon of the accident although Hanna claims that she did not perform any work. She did, however, drive herself home from work that day. She went to work the following day, but left early.

After a bench trial, the trial court ruled that Roussel was 100% at fault for the accident. The court then awarded Hanna medical expenses of $694.15, property damage of $118.34, lost wages of $96, and general damages in the amount of $6,500.

| nDiscussion

Victim, Fault

Defendants first complain that the trial court committed error in failing to assess plaintiff with any fault for the accident. Defendants assert that Hanna could have avoided the collision with the exercise of reasonable care. Furthermore, defendants point us to several cases where courts have assessed pedestrians with a percentage of fault, when the pedestrian walked into a vehicle’s path. See, Busby v. St. Paul Insurance Company, 95-2128 (La.App. 1st Cir.5/10/96), 673 So.2d 320, writ denied, 96-1519 (La.9/20/96), 679 So.2d 443 (Pedestrian 50% at fault); Hundley v. Harper Truck Line, Inc., 28,613 (La.App.2d Cir.9/25/96), 681 So.2d 46 (Pedestrian 50% at fault); Kerrigan v. Imp[264]*264erial Fire and Casualty Ins. Co., 99,603 (La.App. 3d Cir.11/3/99), 748 So.2d 67, writ not considered, 99-3569 (La.2/4/00), 754 So.2d 219, unit denied, 99-3410 (La.2/4/00), 754 So.2d 236 (Pedestrian 80% at fault); Johnson v. Safeway Insurance Co., 96-910 (La.App.3d Cir. 2/19/97), 694 So.2d 411, writ denied, 97-1750 (La.10/17/97), 701 So.2d 1330 (Pedestrian 50% at fault); Guerra v. White, 97-2391 (La.App. 4th Cir.6/16/99), 755 So.2d 894 (Pedestrian 35% at fault); Fayard v. Landry, 94-594 (La.App. 5th Cir.2/15/95), 651 So.2d 1370, writ denied, 95-0668 (La.5/5/95), 654 So.2d 325 (Pedestrian 50% at fault).

It is well-settled that a court of appeal may not set aside a trial court’s finding of fact in the absence of manifest error or unless it is clearly wrong. Touchard v. Slemco Elec. Foundation, 99-3577 (La.10/17/00), 769 So.2d 1200, citing Arceneaux v. Domingue, 365 So.2d 1330 (La.1978). An | allocation of fault is a factual determination subject to the manifest error rule. Boggs v. Voss, 31,965 (La.App. 2d Cir.6/16/99), 741 So.2d 139. When there is a conflict in the testimony, reasonable evaluations of credibility and reasonable inferences of fact should not be disturbed upon review; the issue for the reviewing court is not whether the trier of fact was wrong, but whether the fact-finder’s conclusions were reasonable under the evidence. Touchard, supra.

Generally, duty is the obligation to conform to the standard of conduct of a reasonable man under the circumstances. Foster v. Clarendon Nat. Ins., 32-646 (La.App.2d Cir.3/1/00), 753 So.2d 968; Thielmier v. Louisiana Riverboat Gaming Partnership, 31,739 (La.App.2d Cir.3/31/99), 732 So.2d 620. Drivers are required to exercise due care to avoid colliding with pedestrians upon the road. La. R.S. 32:214;1 Hundley, supra, Bacle v. Wade, 607 So.2d 927 (La.App. 2d Cir.1992); Bennett v. State, Through Department of Transp. and Development, 503 So.2d 1022 (La.App. 2d Cir.1987), writ denied, 505 So.2d 58 (La.1987). Motorists are charged with the duty to see what an ordinarily prudent driver should have seen and avoid striking pedestrians in the road. Foster, supra; Bell v. USAA Cas. Ins. Co., 30,172 (La.App.2d Cir.1/21/98), 707 So.2d 102, writs denied, 98-0712, 98-0766 (La.5/8/98), 718 So.2d 433, 434.

Likewise, a pedestrian must exercise reasonable care to avoid leaving a curb or other place of safety beside the roadway and walking into the path of a vehicle. La. R.S. 32:212(B);2 Hundley, supra; Donavan v. Jones, 26,883 (La.App.2d Cir.6/21/95), 658 So.2d 755, writs denied, 95-1786, 95-1891 (La.11/3/95), 661 So.2d 1379; Bacle, supra.

Tina McGee was the other pedestrian walking through the crosswalk in the opposite direction from Hanna. After Roussel waited for McGee to cross, the two women passed each other in the crosswalk approximately in the middle of Texas Street with McGee to the right of Hanna, between the path of Roussel’s truck and Hanna’s path. McGee testified that immediately after passing Hanna, she heard a “loud thump” [265]*265and turned to see Hanna lying on the street and Roussel’s truck still in the process of turning. Hanna testified that immediately prior to impact, out of the corner of her eye, she briefly saw a red object and realized she was about to be hit. Roussel testified that he did not see Hanna prior to the impact.

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Hanna v. Roussel
803 So. 2d 261 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)

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Bluebook (online)
803 So. 2d 261, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 2919, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hanna-v-roussel-lactapp-2001.