Wilson v. Baptist Mem'l Hosp. - North Miss., Inc. et al.
| Docket Number: | 2010-CA-00683-COA Linked Case(s): 2010-CA-00683-COA ; 2010-CT-00683-SCT |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 12-13-2011 Opinion Author: Ishee, J. Holding: Reversed and remanded. |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Personal injury - Premises liability - Status of hospital visitor - Duty to invitee - M.R.E. 801(D)(2) - M.R.E. 803(2) Judge(s) Concurring: Lee, C.J., Irving and Griffis, P.JJ., Barnes, Roberts, Maxwell and Russell, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): Myers, J. Dissenting Author : Carlton, J. Procedural History: Summary Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 04-26-2010 Appealed from: Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge: Henry L. Lackey Disposition: SUMMARY JUDGMENT GRANTED IN FAVOR OF BAPTIST MEMORIAL HOSPITAL Case Number: L09-348 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | Falanda Wilson |
CARLOS EUGENE MOORE
TANGALA LANIECE HOLLIS |
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| Appellee: | Baptist Memorial Hospital - North Mississippi, Inc. and Jane Doe | JOHN H. DUNBAR SARAH KATHERINE EMBRY | ||
Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Personal injury - Premises liability - Status of hospital visitor - Duty to invitee - M.R.E. 801(D)(2) - M.R.E. 803(2) |
| Summary of the Facts: | Falanda Wilson slipped, fell, and was injured while visiting a patient at Baptist Memorial Hospital. BMH sought summary judgment contending that Wilson was a licensee, rather than an invitee, and that it did not owe her a duty of care to keep its premises reasonably safe. The trial court granted the motion. Wilson appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | To recover for negligence, a plaintiff must prove each of the elements of a negligence claim, which are: duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages. BMH argues that a hospital visitor is a licensee under Mississippi law. Generally, an invitee is one who enters another's premises in answer to the express or implied invitation of the owner or possessor for their mutual advantage; a licensee is one who enters upon another's premises for his or her own convenience, pleasure, or benefit pursuant to the license or implied permission of the owner or possessor; and a trespasser is one who enters upon another's property without invitation, license, or other right. The rule is nearly universal that hospital visitors are invitees. Allowing patients to accept visitors is a part of the hospital’s business, and hospitals often provide amenities, gift and flower shops, and cafeterias intended for visitors’ use and the hospital’s profit. Thus, the trial court erred in finding that Wilson was a licensee. As Wilson was an invitee, BMH owed her a duty to exercise ordinary care to keep the premises reasonably safe and, when not reasonably safe, to warn only where there is hidden danger or peril that is not in plain and open view. BMH points out that there is no evidence in the record as to the amount of time the floor had been wet and, consequently, no proof to impute constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition to the hospital. While that is true, the Court imputes knowledge to the owner/occupier where it created the dangerous condition. In this case, Wilson testified that, after she fell, three nurses responded immediately. In fact, Wilson overheard one of the nurses say the water must have been spilled while the nurses had been delivering water to the patients. This statement was not hearsay, as it is admissible under either M.R.E. 801(D)(2) or 803(2) as a party admission or an excited utterance. Thus, there is sufficient evidence that an issue of genuine material fact exists of a breach of duty. |
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