Sheffield v. Grand Casino of La., Inc., (1998)

• Court: Tunica-Biloxi Tribal Court
• Writing for the Court: JUDGE KATHRYN FOWLER VAN HOOF
• Decision Date: 26 January 1998
• Docket Number: 95-045
• Citation: Sheffield v. Grand Casino of La., Inc. (Tunica-Biloxi Tribal Ct. 1998)
• Parties: MRS. MARIE SHEFFIELD v. GRAND CASINO OF LA., INC.- TUNICA-BILOXI

MRS. MARIE SHEFFIELD v. GRAND CASINO OF LA., INC.- TUNICA-BILOXI

No. 95-045

Tunica-Biloxi Tribal Court Tunica Nation

January 26, 1998

WRITTEN REASONS

JUDGE KATHRYN FOWLER VAN HOOF

This matter arises out of a claim for personal injuries filed on behalf of plaintiff, MRS. MARIE SHEFFIELD. Plaintiff alleges injury by accident on April 26,1995 when she slipped and fell on a recently mopped floor in the restroom of the casino. Plaintiff alleges the fault of agents and employees of defendants in the following particulars:

a Putting mop water on a restroom floor near an occupied enclosure without advising the occupant;

b Failure to recognize the hazard of putting water on the floor near an occupied enclosure, or, recognizing same, failure to take appropriate measures for the safety of the patrons of the facility,

C. Failure to provide adequate training of cleaning employees concerning the hazards of mop water on floors; and

d Failure to adequately warn the patrons of the casino of the presence of water on the floor of the restroom.

Defendant does not dispute that an accident occurred but does deny liability, pleading the affirmative defenses of the sole fault and/or comparative negligence of the plaintiff; the defendant's lack of actual and/or constructive knowledge of the condition alleged to have posed an unreasonable risk of harm; and failure of the plaintiff to mitigate damages.

Sandra Ponthier, a security officer at the casino at the time of this accident, testified that she arrived at the scene for purposes of investigation and report writing at approximately 3:06 p.m. The accident is estimated by Ms. Ponthier to have occurred at 3:05 p.m. She saw the plaintiff on the floor of the restroom. Mrs. Sheffield initially stated that she did not know how she fell. She then stated that she slipped and fell on water "they had on the floor." Ms. Ponthier observed a small wet area of about one to one and one-half inches wide inside the stall, next to the toilet. This wet area was about three feet away from where the plaintiff lay. This defect was noted on her report. Ms. Ponthier kneeled in front of file plaintiff and touched no water. The plaintiff's clothes were not wet. There was no other water in the area.

Virginia Dickerson was lead environmental services associate for the day shift at the time of this accident. She explained that the usual procedure for mopping is to place wet floor safety cones in the area before mopping, as evidenced by P6, the Restroom Cleaning Checklist. The purpose of the cones is to alert guests or associates that the floor may be wet somewhere and to use caution.

If there is at spill, then housekeeping follows the procedure set forth in P7, Spill and Mopping Procedure. This procedure includes guarding the spill to warn others until housekeeping arrives to place wet floor cones in the area and begins to clean.

Ms Dickerson also identified P10, Mopping Procedures for Restrooms, which describes the procedure followed when mopping one-half of the restroom at a time.

Mrs. Marie Sheffield, plaintiff, testified that she was 63 years old at the time of this accident. No one was in the restroom when she entered. She did not notice the wet floor cone pictured in P1 and P2. She noticed a wet floor cone in a corner, near the utility closet close to the entrance of the restroom, which she thought was in storage. She did not see anything wet.

She remembers seeing a broom, mop and dustpan at the opposite end of the stall area, near the last stall, and not in the area where pictured in P2. She also recalls that the door of the last stall was moving as if someone was inside cleaning.

No water was on the floor when she entered the first stall, pictured in P I and P2. She was in the stall about five to seven minutes. Upon leaving the stall, she took two steps out when she slipped and fell to the floor. She fell on her left hip, with the right leg bent backward.

Mrs. Sheffield recalled that the floor felt only damp, not wet, when she laid her arm down immediately after the fall. Her clothes did not become wet. She testified specifically that she slipped "on dampness". The floor was not wet, which Mrs. Sheffield described as meaning the presence of puddles of water.

According to Mrs. Sheffield, a cleaning woman came from behind her immediately after the fall and asked what happened. The cleaning woman was identified at trial as Sherry Bacon. When she motioned behind herself with her arm and said that she slipped on wetness, Ms. Bacon indicated that she would have to "do something about it." Mrs. Sheffield could not pinpoint at trial exactly where the wetness was located. She asked the woman to retrieve her husband from outside. After her husband arrived and began to assist her, Mrs. Sheffield was aware of some type of movement behind, as she leaned against her husband's arms.

Mrs. Sheffield testified that she believes that Ms. Bacon mopped in front of the first stall while she was inside and then took something and made "one or two swipes" behind where she was lying after the fall, finally placing the mop, broom and dustpan in the corner, where pictured in P12. She did not actually see Ms. Bacon do anything.

Cosby Sheffield, the plaintiff's husband, corroborated the testimony of his wife. Additionally, he testified that he watched Ms. Bacon mop the floor behind his wife after the fall. The knee of his pants and his arm were damp after assisting his wife.

Sandra Ponthier, Geri Goudeau and Sandra Bordelon all arrived at the scene of the accident within minutes. All testified that the floor was not wet.

Sherry Bacon testified that she has worked as an environmental services assistant at the casino since 1994. She watched training videos and received on-the-job training. She spent approximately seven hours daily in the restroom, where she was responsible for its cleaning. She also had responsibilities in the hallway, outside the restroom, during her shift.

Ms. Bacon testified that she receives three breaks from her duties each day, at 9:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m. (lunch) and 1:45 p.m. The restroom floor is mopped usually after the morning break and after the afternoon break, between 2:15 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Before mopping, Ms. Bacon sets out two wet floor safety cones. Two stalls depicted on the right side of P11 are mopped, allowed to dry for three to five minutes, and so on until one side is completed. The floor in front of the stalls on the right side is also mopped and allowed drying time of three to five minutes. After drying, the other stalls and the floor in front of the stalls are mopped in the same way. Guests are asked to use the dry side when the floor is wet.

On this particular day, Ms. Bacon recalls that she rechecked the stalls after mopping, following the usual procedure. She retrieved the wet floor safety cones, put them in place (one at the front entry and one as depicted in P2, at the entry of the stall section) and mopped a urine spot in the first stall. To her knowledge, she left no standing water or streaks of water in the first stall and 1he floor was dry when she left. She estimates that drying time is three to five minutes after spot mopping.

Ms. Bacon testified that, if Mrs. Sheffield entered the restroom about 3:00 p.m. or shortly before, the mopping had been completed for about twenty-five minutes. The cones were in this position when Mrs. Sheffield entered.

Ms. Bacon testified that she was cleaning in the fifth stall when she heard Mrs. Sheffield scream. She saw Mrs. Sheffield on the floor, who asked for her husband. Mrs. Sheffield also stated that she had injured her ankle before. She never motioned behind her to indicate that the floor was damp. Security arrived within one and one-half minutes. Ms. Bacon testified that the utensils shown in P2 were placed in that position by her after Mrs. Sheffield entered and fell.

The voluntary statement of Sherry Bacon, P4, was completed immediately after the accident. The statement refers to the clean up of a wet spot of urine about three minutes before Mrs. Sheffield entered the restroom. Ms. Bacon admitted at trial that, although she did not hear Mrs. Sheffield enter, she heard her scream when she fell.

Ms. Bacon specifically denied ever mopping the area in front of the first stall while Mrs. Sheffield was in the stall or while the door to that stall was closed. Further, Ms. Bacon denied ever mopping around Mrs. Sheffield after the fall. She never told Mrs. Sheffield that she needed to clean up a wet spot nearby. She does not recall that Mrs. Sheffield ever complained to her that she had fallen on a wet floor.

Geri Goudeau, Risk Manager, testified that her office is directly across the hall from the restroom at issue. She arrived at the scene within minutes and observed no area of wetness on the floor other than a spot about the size of a fifty cent piece near the toilet.

Sandra Bordelon, who worked in security as an EMT at the time, testified that she responded to the medical emergency resulting from plaintiff's fall at 3:06 p.m. She saw no water on the floor of the restroom.

Mrs. Sheffield was transported by ambulance to a local hospital and later diagnosed as having suffered an acute fracture of the distal fibula and tibia. The emergency room record of Avoyelles Hospital notes a history of "slipped on wet floor and twisted right ankle." P12 The emergency room record of 'St. Frances Cabrini Hospital indicates a history of falling on a "freshly mopped floor." P13

She suffered excruciating pain and discomfort at home while awaiting surgery, which was performed six days later. She has had a difficult and painful recuperative period and remains under the care of Dr. L. Donovan Perdue, orthopedist. Mrs Sheffield...