Hamlet v. Troxler
| Decision Date | 05 July 1956 |
| Docket Number | No. 7206.,7206. |
| Citation | 235 F.2d 335 |
| Parties | Lizzie HAMLET, Appellant, v. R. M. TROXLER, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
Allen H. Gwyn, Jr., Reidsville, N. C. (P. W. Glidewell, Sr., and Gwyn & Gwyn, Reidsville, N. C., on the brief), for appellant.
Clarence Ross, Graham, N. C. (Thomas C. Carter, Burlington, N. C., on the brief), for appellee.
Before SOPER, Circuit Judge, and BARKSDALE and BRYAN, District Judges.
This action was instituted by the plaintiff, Lizzie Hamlet, against the defendant, R. M. Troxler, for the recovery of damages for personal injuries which plaintiff alleged she sustained as the result of the negligence of the defendant. Jurisdiction is based upon diversity of citizenship. A trial, with a jury, was had, and at the conclusion of plaintiff's testimony, the court granted defendant's motion for a judgment of nonsuit, and plaintiff has appealed.
Taking the evidence, and reasonable inferences to be drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, as we must, the facts are as follows:
Defendant, Dr. R. M. Troxler, is a practicing physician, who owns and operates for profit, a private hospital in the City of Burlington, N. C. On October 9, 1954, plaintiff's daughter-in-law, who had recently given birth to a child, was a patient in defendant's hospital. On that date, the plaintiff, who had never visited it before, went to this hospital to visit her daughter-in-law and grandchild. Upon arrival at the hospital, between 6:00 and 7:00 p. m., plaintiff, accompanied by her daughter, went to defendant's office. There they found Miss Mebane, the doctor's nurse, who was also acting as receptionist, and upon inquiry she told plaintiff and her daughter that they might see the daughter-in-law and directed them to follow her. Upon arriving at the patient's room, Miss Mebane showed plaintiff and her daughter in, and sat and chatted with them and the patient. After plaintiff had been in her daughter-in-law's room about forty minutes, she felt a call of nature, and asked Miss Mebane if she might use the bathroom. Miss Mebane said "Yes", and when plaintiff asked Miss Mebane to show her the bathroom, Miss Mebane told her to "go to the hallway and take the right and go to the corner and open the first door to the right", pointing down the hall-way in the direction plaintiff was to go.
The first door on the right did not open into the toilet, but opened onto a steep flight of steps, with no landing at the top, which led to the basement some eight feet below. Actually, the second door to the right opened into the toilet. However, there were no markings on either door, or any of the doors on the hall, and all of the doors were of approximately the same color and size. There was a light fixture at the end of the hall, but no light was burning at the time. Neither was there any light in the basement. Although the hallway was dimly lighted, there was enough light for plaintiff to see the door.
When plaintiff opened the first door on the right, to which she had been directed by Miss Mebane, she saw that it was dark inside, and thinking that she discerned a light switch, she stepped inside the door, reaching for what she thought was the light switch, which later turned out to be only a dark spot on the wall. As the door opened directly onto the flight of stairs leading to the basement, there being no landing at the top and as she was expecting a floor, plaintiff immediately fell to the bottom of the stairs, and sustained personal injuries.
In sustaining the motion for a judgment against her, the trial judge stated that he did not think her evidence sufficient to sustain the charge of negligence, and that her evidence did establish that plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law. Hence, there are two questions presented to us on this appeal:
(1) Was plaintiff's evidence sufficient to go to the jury on the question of negligence? and
(2) Did the evidence show that plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law?
We are of the opinion that the first question must be answered in the affirmative, and the second question in the negative.
To determine whether or not the defendant was guilty of negligence, it is first necessary to determine the status of the plaintiff at the time of her injury, for the degree of duty owed to her by the defendant depends upon whether at the time she was a licensee, or an invitee. As we have no doubt that the plaintiff was an invitee at the time of her injury, it is useless to discuss the circumstances which render a person a licensee, and the degree of duty owed by the owner of the premises to licensees. For such a discussion, see Atlantic Greyhound Corporation v. Newton, 4 Cir., 131 F.2d 845.
It is a matter of common knowledge that all hospitals expect patients to have visitors, the number, duration and frequency of their visits depending upon the severity of the patient's illness. Certainly, near relatives, such as plaintiff in this case, have an implied invitation to visit. Such visits are for the mutual advantage of the patient, the visitor and the hospital. It is desirable from the standpoint of the hospital to permit, at the proper times and under proper conditions, visits to patients by relatives and friends. No one would patronize a hospital which did not permit relatives and friends to visit patients at proper times. Since these visits are at times likely to be of considerable duration, hospitals must be charged with notice that toilet facilities for visitors are sometimes going to be needed. This would seem particularly true as to hospitals which take maternity cases. Besides, in the instant case, there can be no doubt that Miss Mebane, who gave permission to plaintiff to use the toilet and directed her to it, was the agent of defendant, acting within the scope of her employment.
On the facts established by plaintiff's evidence, there seems no doubt that, under the law of North Carolina, the plaintiff, at the time of her accident, was an invitee. Jones v. Bland, 182 N.C. 70, 108 S.E. 344, 16...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Bowins v. Euclid General Hosp. Ass'n
...... No one would patronize a hospital which did not permit relatives and friends to visit patients at proper times." Hamlet" v. Troxler (C.A.4, 1956), 235 F.2d 335, 337. In essence, affording patients visitors is simply part of the business of a hospital. \xC2"......
-
Tipton v. Barge
...on the part of the plaintiff that no other reasonable inference may be drawn therefrom. Citing cases." More recently in Hamlet v. Troxler, 4 Cir., 1956, 235 F.2d 335, 339 it was "She the plaintiff had every right to expect a floor, and the fact that she took one step in an effort to reach w......
-
DuPuis v. E. Idaho Health Servs., Inc.
...No one would patronize a hospital which did not permit relatives and friends to visit patients at proper times. Hamlet v. Troxler , 235 F.2d 335, 337 (4th Cir. 1956). The Ohio Court of Appeals noted that "affording patients visitors is simply part of the business of a hospital." Bowins v. E......
-
Dupuis v. E. Idaho Health Servs., Inc.
...No one would patronize a hospital which did not permit relatives and friends to visit patients at proper times. Hamlet v. Troxler , 235 F.2d 335, 337 (4th Cir. 1956). The Ohio Court of Appeals noted that "affording patients visitors is simply part of the business of a hospital." Bowins v. E......