 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Hoffman v. Union Electric Co.11/22/2005
Opinion Vote: AFFIRMED.
Wolff, C.J., Stith, Price and Russell, JJ., concur. White, J., dissents in separate opinion filed; Teitelman, J., concurs in opinion of White, J.
Opinion:
Theodore and Deborah Hoffman appeal the entry of summary judgment disallowing their claim of negligence against Union Electric Company (UE) for the wrongful death of their daughter. After opinion by the Court of Appeals, Eastern District, this Court granted transfer. Mo. Const. art. V, sec. 10. The judgment is affirmed.
Appellants' daughter, Tiffany Hoffman, was fatally injured when an automobile in which she was a passenger veered out of control, struck a UE electric pole, overturned, and then caught fire after an energized power line fell on it. UE's computer monitoring system recorded an alarm with respect to the downed power line, and less than a minute later the electrical circuits "locked open," de-energizing the circuits so that no current was flowing through the line. Emergency personnel arrived at the scene at about the same time but, upon finding the power line looped over the undercarriage of the vehicle, they did not immediately extricate Tiffany who was trapped inside. Several UE employees were dispatched to the scene, including a line service worker , but a UE construction supervisor was the first to arrive, about 25 minutes after the power line had been de-energized. Although company safety regulations and industry standards direct that employees should refrain from working on downed power lines until they are "isolated and grounded," the supervisor did not have the proper equipment to do so, having come straight from his house in his personal vehicle. Nonetheless, relying on his experience and knowledge that the system is designed to de-energize under these circumstances, he obtained a fiberglass stick from a fire truck and removed the power line. At that point, the emergency personnel removed Tiffany from the vehicle and transported her to a hospital. She died several weeks later. Thereafter, her parents filed this wrongful death action.
Appeals from summary judgment are essentially reviewed de novo. ITT Commercial Finance Corp. v. Mid-America Marine Supply Corp., 854 S.W.2d 371, 376 (Mo. banc 1993). To be entitled to summary judgment, the moving party must demonstrate that: (1) there is no genuine dispute as to the material facts on which the party relies for summary judgment; and (2) on those facts, the party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Rule 74.04. A defendant may establish a right to summary judgment by showing that the plaintiff is unable to produce sufficient evidence to establish one or more of the essential elements of the plaintiff's claim. ITT Commercial Finance Corp.,854 S.W.2d at 381. Finally, on appeal, the court "will review the record in the light most favorable to the party against whom judgment was entered." Id. at 376.
In their petition, appellants allege that UE was negligent in failing to promptly inform emergency personnel "that it was safe to render medical care to decedent at the scene of the crash" and that UE's negligence was the cause of decedent's death. In their briefs and at oral argument, appellants revised their argument to allege that UE had a duty to inform emergency personnel that the power line had been de-energized, thus greatly reducing the risk of injury, not that the situation was altogether safe. In that way, appellants argue, emergency personnel could have made their own informed decision whether to extricate the decedent, and they allege that at least one of the emergency personnel was prepared to do so. To the contrary, UE maintains that Missouri law has never recognized a duty to provide i
Page 1 2 3 4 Missouri Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|