Williams v. Finley, Inc.

900 So. 2d 1040, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 877, 2005 WL 767826
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 6, 2005
DocketNo. 04-1617
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 900 So. 2d 1040 (Williams v. Finley, Inc.) 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
Williams v. Finley, Inc., 900 So. 2d 1040, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 877, 2005 WL 767826 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

|, AMY, Judge.

The plaintiff brought suit against the defendant nursing home, alleging that while he was visiting a patient, he slipped on a liquid substance on the floor and fell, sustaining multiple injuries. The trial court found in favor, of the plaintiff, and the defendant now appeals the trial court’s finding of liability, assessment of fault and the amount of general damages. For the following reasons, we affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background

This case arises from an accident which occurred on May 5, 2002 at a nursing home which was operated by the defendant, Finley, Inc., d/b/a Naomi Heights Nursing Home (“Naomi Heights”). The plaintiff, Eddie Williams, Jr., had just spent approximately an-hour visiting with his brother, who resided at Naomi . Heights. Mr. Williams testified at trial .that he left his brother’s room to return home at approximately 6:00 p.m. He stated that he spoke with an employee, Anna Stinson, as he walked down a hallway and slipped as he went to turn a corner. Mr. Williams alleges that he slipped in a puddle of water or some other liquid on the floor, and that he fell with sufficient force to cause him to lose consciousness. Mr. Williams testified [1042]*1042that he was taken to the hospital by ambulance, and that he received treatment for the numerous injuries he sustained for months after the fall.

On April 24, 2003, the plaintiff filed this suit, stipulating in his Petition that the amount of damages claimed were less than fifty thousand dollars. At the subsequent bench trial, the parties stipulated to the date, time and location of the plaintiffs fall. In addition to his own testimony, the plaintiff presented the testimony of Ms. Stinson, who was employed as a certified nurse’s assistant by Naomi Heights at the time of the accident. She stated that she had just attended to a patient’s call and saw the plaintiff in the hall as she left the patient’s room. Ms. Stinson said that she saw the plaintiffs | ¡¿feet fly in the air and his head hit the wall two or three times as he fell. Although Ms. Stinson stated that she had not seen any substance on the floor when she had entered the patient’s room to answer the call, she also stated that there was definitely a liquid on the floor which had caused Mr. Williams to slip. Ms. Stinston also testified that Mr. Williams’ pants were wet after the fall.

The defense presented the testimony of Cherry Antoine, who worked on the housekeeping staff at Naomi Heights at the time of the accident. Ms. Antoine testified that she was responsible for cleaning the hall in which the plaintiffs fall occurred on the date of the accident. She stated that she checked to ensure that there were no liquids present on the floor before she left at three o’clock that afternoon. Ms. Antoine also testified that after the housekeeping staff leaves at three o’clock in the afternoon, it is the responsibility of the nurses and nurses’ assistants to notice and clean any foreign substances on the floor. The defense also presented the testimony of Retha Carter, who was employed as a licensed practical nurse by Naomi Heights on the date of the accident. She stated that she noticed droplets of water on the ground where the plaintiff had fallen.

Following the conclusion of the testimony and the submission of the evidence, the trial judge found in favor of the plaintiff, awarding $45,000.00 in general damages and $9,305.88 in medical damages, in addition to legal interest and court costs. However, due to the plaintiffs stipulation, the judgment reflected total damages in the amount of $50,000 plus legal interest. The defendant filed a motion for suspen-sive appeal on September 14, 2004, and now asserts the following as error:

1. The trial court committed manifest error in finding fault on the defendant, Finley, Inc. d/b/a Naomi Heights Nursing Home for the slip and fall which occurred on May 5, 2002 at Naomi Heights Nursing Home.
Is2. The trial court committed manifest error in failing to apportion fault on the plaintiff for the slip and fall which occurred on May 5, 2002 at Naomi Heights Nursing Home.
3. The trial court committed manifest error in awarding the amount of general damages to Eddie J. Williams, Jr.

Discussion

Liability

For his first assignment of error, the defendant alleges that the trial court erred in finding Naomi Heights at fault for the plaintiffs damages. The defendant alleges in its trial brief that the policy that Naomi Heights had in place regarding housekeeping was reasonable.

A trial court’s findings of fact may not be disturbed absent manifest error. Stobart v. State, through Dept. Of Trans. & Dev., 617 So.2d 880 (La.1993). When there is a conflict in the testimony, reason[1043]*1043able evaluations of credibility and reasonable inferences of fact should not be disturbed on review. Id. The appellate court may not reverse if the trial court’s findings are reasonable in light of the entire record. Id.

In its oral reasons, the trial court stated the following:

The court finds that there was, in fact, an accident, a slip and fall, at the Naomi Heights Nursing Home. Further, the court finds that the testimony reveals that there was in fact a foreign substance on the floor when, in fact, plaintiff fell. Defendants admit to not having any specific housekeeping personnel but that duty was charged to all staff members on duty at the time of the accident. Further testimony reveals there was no policy or procedure or records set into place for any one individual or group of individuals to check in the hallways, especially in light of the fact that patients would still be moving and milling around, visitors would be coming in and out. And then at that point, it would seem to this court that at least one staff member would be charged with the duty of checking the hallways, especially in light of the fact that visiting hours are set by the nursing home and the conditions under which those hours and those visitors exercise those hours are set by the nursing home.
|/The fact that you have non-nursing home personnel present does, in fact, create an additional risk. With that, this court finds that the defendants did, in fact, breach a reasonable standard of care commensurate with the particular circumstances. The court further finds that the defendants acted unreasonably in discovering and/or correcting a dangerous condition reasonably anticipated in its business activities.

In Louisiana, “[a] hospital owes a duty to its visitors to exercise reasonable care commensurate with the particular circumstances.” Harkins v. Natchitoches Parish Hosp., 97-83, p. 4 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/7/97), 696 So.2d 19, 21. The second circuit has held a nursing home’s duty to its patients and their visitors to be similar to the standard of care that a hospital owes to its patients and visitors. Robinson v. Gulf Ins. Co., 434 So.2d 487 (La.App. 2 Cir.), writ denied, 439 So.2d 1075 (La.1983).

In Millet v. Evangeline Health Care, Inc., 02-1020 (La.App. 5 Cir. 1/28/03), 839 So.2d 357, the fifth circuit considered a claim by a nursing home visitor who had sustained injuries after slipping on a recently mopped floor. The Millet court applied the same, burden of proof that had been applied in a slip-and-fall case against a hospital, stating as follows:

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Bluebook (online)
900 So. 2d 1040, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 877, 2005 WL 767826, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-finley-inc-lactapp-2005.