 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Trennel v. MetroHealth System10/27/2005
{ } In this action for personal injury due to a slip and fall, plaintiff-appellant Patricia Trennel appeals from the trial court order that granted summary judgment to defendant-appellee MetroHealth System on her complaint.
{ } Appellant argues summary judgment was inappropriate on the facts of this case.
{ } This appeal was assigned to the accelerated calendar. The purpose of an accelerated appeal is to allow this court to give a brief and conclusory opinion. Crawford v. Eastland Mall Assn. (1983), 11 Ohio App.3d 158.
{ } The record reflects appellant alleged that while walking down a hallway as a visitor on appellee's premises she was "caused to slip and fall due to a build up of wax" on the floor, and that the wax was a latent defect not open and obvious to her. Thus, she asserted appellee had been negligent in permitting the condition to exist, and failing to warn her of it.
{ } Appellee's answer denied the pertinent allegations. Eventually, appellee filed a motion for summary judgment that was supported by portions of appellant's deposition testimony. During appellant's deposition, she identified a photograph that depicted the hallway in which she had fallen; this photograph was attached as an exhibit to appellee's motion.
{ } In its brief in support of its motion, appellee contended it owed no duty to appellant because the danger was "open and obvious," appellant had assumed the risk of walking there, and appellant's own lack of care was the proximate cause of her injury.
{ } Appellant responded with a brief in opposition, to which she attached an entire copy of the deposition testimony of Ronald Wallace, appellee's Director of Environmental Services. She argued that the evidence demonstrated issues of fact remained concerning whether appellee owed a duty to her that it had breached.
{ } The trial court granted appellee's motion without opinion.
{ } Appellant argues in her assignment of error that summary judgment for appellee was inappropriate on the record before the court. Her argument has merit, so her assignment of error is sustained.
{ } Although the moving party bears the initial burden of identifying those portions of the record which support the requested judgment, appellee's motion was unaccompanied by any affidavits, and was supported by an incomplete deposition. Appellee selected portions of appellant's deposition testimony to demonstrate she could not establish the elements of her claim.
{ } However, even though the complete deposition was not submitted, a fair reading of it pursuant to Civ.R. 56(C) standards, especially in conjunction with Wallace's deposition, reveals the existence of genuine issues of material fact. Texler v. D.O. Summers Cleaners & Shirt Laundry Co., 81 Ohio St.3d 677, 1998-Ohio-602; Sadey v. Metromedia Steakhouses Co. (July 15, 1998), Cuyahoga App. No. 74178. Despite appellee's attorney's efforts to compromise her testimony, appellant was definite as to what caused her fall and credible in her version of the incident.
{ } Appellant stated that she, a licensed minister, was on appellee's premises visiting a patient. At the conclusion of her visit, she and her husband became lost while looking for the exit to the garage where their car was parked, so they used the pedestrian "bridge" and then entered a hallway with which they were unfamiliar. They saw it appeared to be in the process of being waxed.
{ } Orange cones were set up along the hallway's length, leaving a three-foot wide "walkway" to the right side for travel. The left side of the hallway was set off as a work area lengthwise by the cones,
Page 1 2 Ohio Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|