Roniger v. Borden, Inc.
| Decision Date | 12 March 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 6671,6671 |
| Citation | 309 So.2d 756 |
| Parties | Jerome RONIGER v. BORDEN, INC. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
Emile L. Turner, Jr., New Orleans, for plaintiff-appellee.
George F. Riess, New Orleans, for defendant-appellant.
Before LEMMON, SCHOTT and BEER, JJ.
The principal issue in defendant's appeal from a judgment awarding damages to plaintiff is whether the evidence preponderated in favor of the conclusion that plaintiff's ingestion of a food product manufactured by defendant caused an aggravation of plaintiff's pre-existing peptic ulcer.
In June, 1972 plaintiff was hospitalized for 13 days with a bleeding ulcer. Dr. Wesley Lake, a specialist in internal medicine, administered treatment, and the ulcer was under control by August. In September plaintiff was released from treatment to return to a normal diet and had no further problems over the next five months.
In the evening of February 5, 1973 plaintiff, asked by his son to taste a popsicle manufactured by defendant, took a bite and immediately sensed a bitter taste and a severe burning to his tongue and mouth. He spit out the food, washed out his mouth and drank water, milk and iced tea to soothe the burning.
The burning sensation continued throughout the night. (Plaintiff's wife, describing him as 'terrified' from fear of food poisoning, stated he paced the floor all night.) The next morning plaintiff consulted Dr. Lake, who prescribed medication for the burning.
Plaintiff returned to work the following day, but when his stomach became upset that evening and he vomited what appeared to be blood, he went to the hospital, where a physician on Dr. Lake's advice admitted him for observation and testing.
Dr. Lake found no evidence of active bleeding, but because X-rays in gastroin-testinal testing indicated the possibility of an exacerbation of the ulcer problem, he referred plaintiff for gastroscopic evaluation to Dr. Thomas McCaffery, an internist subspecializing in gastroenterology. That testing confirmed the presence of an active ulcer.
Plaintiff did well under the concurrent treatment of both doctors, although he had to undergo the very painful gastroscopic test two more times. The ulcer healed within a month or two, and plaintiff suffered no further problems after May.
In seeking reversal on liability, defendant relies heavily on Dr. McCaffery's opinion that, despite the temporal relationship between the popsicle incident and the ulcer attack, emotional disturbance does not Cause ulcers. This case, however, does not involve the causation of an ulcer, but rather the aggravation of a pre-existing ulcer. Both physicians agreed that anxiety and emotional disturbance are considered to be factors which...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
PPG Industries, Inc. v. Industrial Laminates Corp.
...an inadequate building foundation, Sterbcow v. Peres, 222 La. 850, 64 So.2d 195 (1953); a contaminated popsicle, Roniger v. Borden, Inc., 309 So.2d 756 (La.App.1975). Without question the district court correctly concluded that the delamination of the spandrel wall panels, which were only v......
-
Fidelity & Cas. Co. of New York v. Continental Cas. Co.
... ... Immediately prior to the accident, the tractor-trailer owned by Western Lines, Inc. (Western Lines) and driven by Everett W. Hamilton, its employee, was proceeding north on Highway ... ...