Pfister v. Parkway General Hospital, Inc., 80-2201
| Decision Date | 13 October 1981 |
| Docket Number | No. 80-2201,80-2201 |
| Citation | 405 So.2d 1011 |
| Parties | Emil PFISTER and Grace Pfister, his wife, Appellants, v. PARKWAY GENERAL HOSPITAL, INC., Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Greene & Cooper, Joan M. Bolotin and Marc Cooper, Philip Auerbach, Miami, for appellants.
Fowler, White, Burnett, Hurley, Banick & Strickroot and Michael Murphy, Miami, for appellee.
Before BARKDULL, BASKIN and DANIEL S. PEARSON, JJ.
Appellant Emil Pfister underwent surgery at Parkway General Hospital. Two weeks later, as he chatted with the wife of the patient in the next bed, a floor-buffing machine broke apart and crashed into his bed. During the trial of his action against the hospital, the court instructed the jury that as a matter of law, the hospital was negligent. The jury then deliberated concerning whether that negligence was a legal cause of the loss, injury, or damage sustained by Emil Pfister. The court instructed, "If the greater weight of the evidence does not support the claim of the Plaintiffs, then such negligence was not a legal cause of loss, injury or damage." The jury returned a verdict in favor of Parkway General Hospital, Inc.
Appellant seeks reversal on two grounds: first, he contends the verdict was against the weight of the evidence. Next, he argues that the court's refusal to charge the jury not to reduce compensatory damages by amounts he received from collateral sources was error. We affirm.
First, appellant contends that in light of the directed verdict establishing liability and the uncontroverted evidence of injury to him, the verdict in favor of appellee was improper. We disagree. Although the question concerning the hospital's negligence was determined as a matter of law, whether that negligence caused injury was a fact to be decided by the jury. Questions of proximate cause are generally decided by a jury unless the issue is so clear that reasonable men cannot differ. Helman v. Seaboard Coast Line R. Co., 349 So.2d 1187 (Fla.1977); Brightwell v. Beem, 90 So.2d 320 (Fla.1956). The evidence presented by appellant was controverted by appellee. A review of the record reveals that a jury of reasonable people could have returned a verdict for appellee. See Midstate Hauling Company v. Fowler, 176 So.2d 87 (Fla.1965); Biltmore Terrace Association v. Kegan, 130 So.2d 631 (Fla.3d DCA 1961).
Next, we consider appellant's contention that the court should have cautioned the jury against reductions for collateral source payments. The court instructed on negligence, legal cause, and damage. The...
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...on damages only is a sufficient remedy to cure the error of admitting collateral source evidence. See Pfister v. Parkway General Hospital, Inc., 405 So.2d 1011 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Peppe v. Clow, 307 So.2d 886 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974). Moreover, in a number of cases where courts have decided that ......
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...upon as an alternative ground for affirmance is not also affected by the prejudicial evidentiary ruling. See Pfister v. Parkway Gen. Hosp., Inc., 405 So.2d 1011 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981) (general verdict on negligence claim covered all elements of negligence on which jury was charged, but two-issu......
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