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Grieff v. Parish of Jefferson12/13/2000
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; AMENDED IN PART
This is a personal injury lawsuit, directed by plaintiff, William Grieff, a former employee of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, against Sheriff Harry Lee and the Parish of Jefferson, for injuries he sustained in a fall on the steps of the sheriff's office building, during his employment. The trial judge, in a bifurcated trial, first rendered a judgment in the amount of $493,806.75 in favor of plaintiff and against both the Parish of Jefferson and Sheriff Harry Lee and then found both defendants liable. The Parish of Jefferson and the sheriff appeal.
The trial judge, in her judgment on the liability issue, concluded that the Parish of Jefferson is liable under La. Civ. Code art. 2322 as the owner of the building where the plaintiff was injured and that plaintiff's damages were caused by the "ruin" in the building resulting from "a neglect to repair and improper maintenance." The trial judge further concluded on the sheriff's liability that the sheriff was liable for damages under La. Civ. Code art. 2315, "... due to his negligence in failing to properly maintain the steps...." The trial judge did not find the plaintiff comparatively at fault.
In the trial judge's exhaustive reasons for judgment on damages, she stated that " he un-contradicted post-accident emotional picture portrayed by the witness was one of emotional deterioration beginning upon Mr. Grieff's return to work in October 1993 and continuing to a total inability to function when Mr. Grieff began seeing Dr. Levine and ongoing at the time of trial."
The trial judge further pointed out that Grieff never returned to work and never resumed his work at the sheriff's office subsequent to the October 1994 surgery. Additionally, she stated that, despite the sheriff's claim that plaintiff could have returned to sedentary positions with the sheriff's office post-surgery, plaintiff's mental and emotional condition, according to the experts, was such that plaintiff was not employable.
Appealing the trial court's finding of liability, the sheriff claims that there was no evidence to show any alleged failure on the sheriff's part to maintain the steps in question or that the sheriff knew or should have known of any hazardous condition of the steps. Appealing damages, the sheriff claims that due to the undisputed testimony regarding plaintiff's pre-injury neck condition and subsequent accidents following his fall on the steps, the trial judge erred in finding the sheriff responsible for all of plaintiff's neck injuries based solely on the aggravation by the September 1993 step accident. The sheriff further contends that the trial judge erred in finding that the sole cause of plaintiff's psychiatric distress and psychiatric problem was the fall on the steps.
In an additional assignment of error, the sheriff complains there was no showing that plaintiff suffered any wage loss because of the September 1993 accident. Additionally, the sheriff complains that the trial judge seriously erred when she relied on the testimony of a social worker, who was not qualified and not able to make a medical diagnosis, in preference to a duly qualified psychologist who performed psychological testing on the plaintiff. Further, the sheriff complains that, because of the stipulation in the record stating that plaintiff received his full wages and benefits until his termination in March 1997, the trial judge erred by awarding $23,343.60 in previously paid medical bills. Finally, the sheriff contends that, because of the absence of evidence in the record to establish that plaintiff was unable to return to his job at the sheriff's office or similar work, the
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