Manuel v. U.S. Fire Ins. Co.
| Citation | 140 So.2d 702 |
| Decision Date | 07 May 1962 |
| Docket Number | No. 551,551 |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana (US) |
| Parties | Horace MANUEL, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. UNITED STATES FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant and Appellee. |
Nathan A. Cormie & Assoc., by Chris J. Roy, Lake Charles, for plaintiff-appellant.
Lewis & Lewis, by Seth Lewis, Jr., Opelousas, for defendant-appellee.
Before SAVOY, HOOD and CULPEPPER, JJ.
In this case Horace Manuel sued United States Fire Insurance Company, as liability insurer of the town of Mamou, for injuries caused by a city police officer's negligence in slamming a jail cell door on the little finger of plaintiff's right hand. The defendant denied any actionable negligence on the part of the officer and, in the alternative, alleged contributory negligence by the plaintiff. Without assigning written reasons, the trial judge rejected plaintiff's demands. From said judgment plaintiff now prosecutes this appeal.
The facts show that the plaintiff, a white man who frequently overindulged in intoxicating liquor, received his pay check on the afternoon of Thursday, April 14, 1960 at Holly Beach, Louisiana, where he was working for a pipeline company. After cashing their pay checks, the plaintiff and several companions started drinking in Holly Beach and later drove to Lake Charles where they continued to drink. Plaintiff testified that later he went to Mamou for the avowed purpose of giving money to his estranged wife and children. He testified the last thing he could remember before the accident was that he was sitting in a cafe in Mamou drinking at about 2 o'clock a.m. on the morning of Friday, April 15.
The evidence is unclear as to plaintiff's further activities until about 5 o'clock p.m. on Friday, April 15 in the town of Mamou, he walked to the taxi cab of Mr. Isaac Fontenot and asked to be taken to the home of his wife. Mr. Fontenot testified that he drove to several incorrect addresses and then plaintiff refused either to leave the cab or pay his fare. Fontenot stated that plaintiff was drunk and he didn't know what to do with him so he drove to the home of Mr. Rene Fusilier, police officer of the town of Mamou, to ask for assistance. Mr. Fusilier ordered plaintiff to get out of the cab and pay his fare, which plaintiff did by taking from his pocket and handing to Mr. Fontenot the sum of 35cents, one quarter and two nickels, which was the correct fare.
The officer then placed plaintiff in a police car and took him to the jail. When they arrived at the jail, plaintiff walked without assistance into the jail and into an open cell. When the officer started to close the cell door, plaintiff cursed and resisted by placing his left hand on the sill of the door next to the lock. The officer testified that he removed plaintiff's left hand from the door sill and pushed on the door to shut it, but before it locked he realized there was some obstruction so he pulled the door open and found that the little finger of plaintiff's right hand had been caught and mashed between the door and the sill near the hinges. A written statement, given by the officer before trial, stated that plaintiff cried out as the door closed on his finger, but in his deposition the officer said this was incorrect and that actually plaintiff did not cry out until after the door was opened and he saw his bloody finger. This evidence is relevant to the issue of the extent of plaintiff's intoxication, but even if he expressed no pain as the door closed we do not believe this to be a conclusive showing that plaintiff was so apparently intoxicated he would not take some precaution for his own safety.
Officer Fusilier took plaintiff to the Savoy Hospital in Mamou where Dr. B. J. Manuel treated the badly crushed and bleeding finger. In describing plaintiff's condition, Dr. Manuel testified that he smelled of intoxicating liquor; that he apparently had been drinking 'fairly heavy'; that he could stand up and could walk, but unsteadily; that he was in a fighting mood and at first resisted treatment but finally agreed to lay down on a table while the finger was treated and bandaged; that plaintiff did not complain of any pain in his finger but expressed great anger toward Mr. Fusilier and occasionally would rise up off the table and want to leave. Plaintiff was released from the hospital the following day, but his finger subsequently developed gangrene and had to be amputated.
The first issue is whether plaintiff has proved any actionable negligence on the part of the police officer, Mr. Rene Fusilier. Plaintiff relies on the case of Kimbrell v. American Indemnity Co., 56 So.2d 880 (2nd Cir. La.App.1952) in which the city police found the plaintiff lying on the bank of a river, in a drunken stupor. The police transported plaintiff to the city jail where he recovered a little from his stupified condition, but still was completely intoxicated and able to walk only with the officer's assistance. Plaintiff resisted the closing of the cell door, but the officer overcame his struggles and slammed and locked the door, catching and smashing the little finger of plaintiff's left hand. The opinion does not show whether plaintiff's finger was caught on the side of the door next to the lock where it would have been in full view of the officer, or whether it was caught on the side of the door next to the hinges, as in the instant case, where it would not have been in full view of the officer as the door was closed. The court held that the officer, knowing of plaintiff's highly intoxicated condition and knowing that he could not take care of himself, should have used a higher degree of care than would have been necessary or expected in the case of one who was entirely sober. The court found the officer negligent in not ascertaining, before closing the door, that no injury would result to the prisoner, and allowed plaintiff damages. (Contributory...
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