Sibilia v. Hosp
| Decision Date | 05 November 1931 |
| Docket Number | No. 27917.,27917. |
| Parties | SIBILIA v. PAXTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. |
| Court | Nebraska Supreme Court |
SIBILIA
v.
PAXTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL.
No. 27917.
Supreme Court of Nebraska.
Nov. 5, 1931.
“A charitable institution conducting a hospital solely for philanthropic and benevolent purposes is not liable to inmates for the negligence of nurses.” Duncan v. Nebraska Sanitarium & Benevolent Ass'n, 92 Neb. 162, 137 N. W. 1120, 41 L. R. A. (N. S.) 973, Ann. Cas. 1913E, 1127.
Appeal from District Court, Douglas County; Leslie, Judge.
Action by Catherine Sibilia against the Paxton Memorial Hospital. Judgment for the defendant, and the plaintiff appeals.
Affirmed.
North, Caldwell & Gillogly, of Omaha, and James Millett, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, for appellant.
Brown, Fitch & West, of Omaha, for appellee.
Heard before ROSE, GOOD, DAY, and PAINE, JJ., and BEGLEY, District Judge.
DAY, J.
This action was brought to recover damages from the Paxton Memorial Hospital alleged to have been sustained by reason of a burn caused by the negligent placing of a hot water bottle on the person of the plaintiff. At the close of all the testimony, the trial court directed the jury to return a verdict in favor of the defendant.
It appears from the record that the plaintiff paid the defendant for the services rendered; that the hospital was not organized for profit; that no dividends were to be paid
[238 N.W. 752]
upon the stock; and that no benefits out of the funds were to accrue on account of membership. The articles of incorporation provided that “the only persons who shall receive any remuneration out of its funds shall be managers, employees, nurses, superintendents, teachers and those who actually render full service therefor;” that any surplus accumulated beyond its needs was to be paid over to other Nebraska charities.
This case seems to come within the rule announced in Duncan v. Nebraska Sanitarium & Benevolent Ass'n, 92 Neb. 162, 137 N. W. 1120, 41 L. R. A. (N. S.) 973, Ann. Cas. 1913E, 1127, which was later discussed in Marble v. Nicholas Senn Hospital Ass'n, 102 Neb. 343, 167 N. W. 208, and in Malcolm v. Evangelical Lutheran Hospital Ass'n, 107 Neb. 101, 185 N. W. 330. These later cases did not depart from the rule that “a charitable institution conducting a hospital solely for philanthropic and benevolent purposes is not liable to inmates for the negligence of nurses.” Duncan v. Nebraska Sanitarium & Benevolent Ass'n, 92 Neb. 162, 137 N. W. 1120, 41 L. R. A. (N. S.) 973, Ann. Cas. 1913E, 1127. The overwhelming weight of...
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