Spicer v. Williamson

Citation132 S.E. 291
Decision Date31 March 1926
Docket Number(No. 225.)
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of North Carolina
PartiesSPICER. v. WILLIAMSON et al.

132 S.E. 291

SPICER.
v.
WILLIAMSON et al.

(No. 225.)

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

March 31, 1926.


(191 N.C.)

[132 S.E. 292]

Appeal from Superior Court, Duplin County; T. T. Thorne, Judge.

Action by Williams Spicer against D. S. Williamson and the Board of County Commissioners of Duplin County. From judgment of nonsuit dismissing action upon motion of each defendant, plaintiff appeals. Reversed.

This is an action commenced by plaintiff, a physician and surgeon, in the superior court of Wayne county, to recover of defendant D. S. Williamson for professional services rendered to, and hospital expenses incurred in behalf of, Peter Camel, at the request of said defendant. Peter Camel was a prisoner in the custody of D. S. Williamson, who was sheriff of Duplin county. He was suffering from the effects of a wound inflicted at the time of his arrest by a deputy sheriff of Duplin county, upon a charge of robbery and larceny committed in said county. Defendant D. S. Williamson denied liability. He alleged that the board of county commissioners of Duplin county was liable for the amount due plaintiff for said services and hospital expenses. Upon his motion, the board of county commissioners of Duplin county was made a party defendant, and the action was removed from Wayne to Duplin county for trial. The board of county commissioners denied liability, on the ground that the said board had not authorized the defendant D. S. Williamson, sheriff of said county, to take the prisoner to plaintiff for treatment. It alleged that it had not requested or authorized plaintiff to render any services to, or to incur any hospital expenses for, Peter Camel.

At the close of all the evidence, upon motion of each defendant, there was a judgment of nonsuit dismissing the action. From this judgment, plaintiff appealed.

Langston, Allen & Taylor, of Goldsboro, for appellant.

H. D. Williams, of Kenansville, and R. D. Johnston, of Warsaw, for appellee Williamson.

Gavin & Boney, of Kenansville, for appellee Duplin County.

CONNOR, J. It is admitted that plaintiff, a physician and surgeon, who owns and operates a hospital in Goldsboro, N. C., received into said hospital, as a patient, Peter Camel, and thereafter rendered professional services to, and incurred hospital expenses for, said Peter Camel, at the request of defendant D. S. Williamson, sheriff of Duplin county. At the time of such request, Peter Camel was a prisoner in the custody of the said sheriff. He had been arrested by a deputy sheriff, and delivered into the custody of the sheriff, upon a charge of robbery and larceny committed in Duplin county. Immediately before his arrest, the prisoner had been shot and wounded by the deputy sheriff. He had resisted arrest, and, when pursued by the officer, had fired twice at him, with his pistol, thus not only resisting arrest, but also assaulting the officer with a deadly weapon. When the prisoner came into the custody of the sheriff, his condition, resulting from his wound, was such as to require immediate medical and surgical treatment. The physi-

[132 S.E. 293]

cian who had usually attended prisoners in the custody of the sheriff, and whose bills for services to such prisoners had been paid by the board of county commissioners, was called by the sheriff to see the prisoner, and advised the sheriff that he was unable to care for the prisoner—that his condition required the immediate attention of a surgeon in a hospital, equipped to care for such cases. It was impracticable for the sheriff to consult the board of county commissioners, as its members lived at distances of more than 15 miles from the place where the prisoner was shot. Acting upon the advice of the physician, the sheriff took the...

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