Rubel v. West Jefferson General Hospital

477 So. 2d 838, 1985 La. App. LEXIS 9952
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 10, 1985
DocketNos. 85-CA-210, 85-CA-446
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 477 So. 2d 838 (Rubel v. West Jefferson General Hospital) 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
Rubel v. West Jefferson General Hospital, 477 So. 2d 838, 1985 La. App. LEXIS 9952 (La. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

CHEHARDY, Judge.

Suits Nos. 85-CA-210 and 85-CA-446 of our docket were consolidated for trial in this court for reasons explained hereinafter.

Plaintiff appeals from a judgment dismissing her suit for personal injuries received in a slip-and-fall accident on a sidewalk at West Jefferson General Hospital. Named defendants were the hospital, its liability insurer, and the Parish of Jefferson. The case was tried on April 2, 3, and 4, 1984. After plaintiff rested her case on April 3, an oral motion for a directed verdict was made on behalf of the parish. It was granted by the court.

At the conclusion of the trial on April 4, 1984, the matter was submitted to the jury as to the other defendants. In answer to jury interrogatories they found that while the hospital sidewalk was defective, it was not the proximate cause of plaintiff’s injury. In accordance with the jury verdict, judgment was rendered dismissing plaintiff’s suit.

A careful examination of the record after it was lodged in this court disclosed that [839]*839although the verdict of the jury was verbally made the judgment of the court, the only written judgment in the record was that dismissing the Parish of Jefferson. There was no signed judgment in the suit dismissing the hospital or its insurer. Therefore on our own motion we issued a show cause order to determine whether or not the appeal should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

In response to our rule, plaintiff provided us with a written judgment signed on June 6, 1985, rendered in Chambers on the 4th day of April, 1984, affirming the directed verdict in favor of the Parish of Jefferson and dismissing plaintiffs suit against West Jefferson Hospital and its insurer with prejudice.

On July 18, 1985, plaintiff filed a second appeal founded upon the signed judgment of June 6. Both appeals relate to the April 18 trial on the merits. The issues, the facts and the assignments of error are identical. We permitted the record to be supplemented and consolidated both appeals to be heard together on our September docket.

Since we now have a signed judgment and a timely appeal from that judgment, the question of prematurity raised by our rule to show cause is now moot, and we will proceed to decide the case on the merits.

ON THE MERITS

On February 23, 1981, Mr. and Mrs. Larry Rubel went to visit their son, a patient at West Jefferson Hospital. They were accompanied by two friends. They parked the car some distance from the main entrance, walked across the parking lot and onto a sidewalk leading to the hospital. As they were nearing the main entrance a group of people leaving the hospital approached the Rubel party on the sidewalk, walking in the opposite direction.

The Rubels stepped off of the sidewalk to allow the other group to pass. When Mrs. Rubel stepped back up to the sidewalk with her right foot she twisted her ankle and fell to the ground facing the parking lot roadway. Plaintiff claims she fell because of a defective sidewalk.

Mrs. Rubel was unable to walk or stand after the accident. She was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment and then admitted to the hospital where she was operated on for a trimalleolar fracture of the right ankle. She now has a 10% permanent partial disability of the right ankle as a result of the fall.

Plaintiff claims the sole proximate cause of the accident was the defective sidewalk. The jury agreed the sidewalk was defective, but found it was not the proximate cause of plaintiff’s injuries.

Appellant contends the jury committed the following errors: (1) in finding plaintiffs injuries were not caused by the defective sidewalk; (2) in misapplying the legal concepts of preponderance of the evidence, circumstantial evidence and victim fault; and (3) in failing to award plaintiff $104,-210.79 in view of the severity and disabling nature of her injury.

Relative to appellant’s first contention she relies on the testimony of herself and her husband; Dr. Gordon Gidman, her treating physician; and Mr. Wilford Gal-lard, a safety expert who testified on her behalf.

A careful examination of Mr. and Mrs. Rubel’s testimony reveals neither one of them knew how she fell or what caused her fall.

Mrs. Rubel testified:

“Q. The night of the accident, when you were walking down the sidewalk, I believe you said you saw some people coming toward you on the sidewalk, and then you stepped off the sidewalk into the street, is that right?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Okay. Do you remember when you stepped off the sidewalk, do you remember stepping down to a different level, or was it — did you step onto the street on the same level? [840]*840Did you step down off a curb onto the street?
A. I couldn’t recall that.
Q. You don’t remember? Okay, then when you stepped back to the sidewalk, you don’t remember again whether you stepped up or not?
A. All I remember is we were getting back up on the sidewalk after the people had passed, and as I was putting my right foot forward and I was fixing to bring my left foot up, I went down and turned.
Q. Right. All you know is that you fell, but you don’t know how you fell.
A. I know I turned facing the street.
Q. And you weren’t looking down to see where you were placing your feet at the time were you?
A. I couldn’t recall that. I couldn’t say if I was or if I was looking up. That’s how long it’s been.
Q. Okay. Well again, let me remind you of the deposition and refer you to Page 41 of the deposition that was taken in this case where you were asked the question whether you were looking to see where you were going, and at Line 6 on Page 41 of your deposition you were asked, ‘You didn’t see a crack in the sidewalk,’ and your answer at Line 8 was, T don’t look down when I am walking.’ Is that — do you recall that testimony?
A. Right offhand? It just barely comes to my mind.
Q. And as far as you can remember, I know it's been a while since the accident, your testimony today is no different.
A. What do you mean by that?
Q. You don’t dispute this statement that you weren’t looking down.
A. No, I don’t dispute it.
* * * 41 * #
Q. So you can’t say exactly where you fell, other than the general area of the hospital grounds.
A. I can’t answer that for you. I don’t remember.
Q. So your answer then is you cannot say exactly where you fell. That’s a correct statement?
A. All I know — all I can say is I fell on the sidewalk, I fell down and faced the street.”

While Mr. Rubel was right next to his wife on her left and about one-half step behind her, he was looking ahead to see where he was going. When asked if he saw where her feet were placed when she fell, he answered, “Not really.”

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Related

Deblois v. Republic Vanguard Ins. Co.
537 So. 2d 844 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1989)
Richoux v. Metropolitan Gastroenterology
522 So. 2d 677 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1988)
Rubel v. West Jefferson General Hospital
478 So. 2d 1234 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1985)

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Bluebook (online)
477 So. 2d 838, 1985 La. App. LEXIS 9952, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rubel-v-west-jefferson-general-hospital-lactapp-1985.