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Talbott v. Roswell Hospital Corp.6/22/2005
ital suggests that MAT would have received similar preferential status if it was based at the airport, this is speculative, and it seems equally possible that no such assurance would have been given. When reviewing the denial of a directed verdict, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prevailing party. See Couch v. Astec Indus., Inc., 2002-NMCA-084, 28, 132 N.M. 631, 53 P.3d 398. Applying this standard, the evidence was sufficient to support a determination that MAT would not have been in the area, and the crash would not have occurred, absent the Hospital's involvement.
Proximate Cause
An act or omission may be deemed a "proximate cause" of an injury if it contributes to bringing about the injury, if the injury would not have occurred without it, and if it is reasonably connected as a significant link to the injury. UJI 13-305 NMRA. This is generally a question of fact for the jury to decide. See Herrera, 2003-NMSC-018, 8. Proximate cause only becomes a question of law "when facts regarding causation are undisputed and all reasonable inferences therefrom are plain, consistent and uncontradictory." Harless v. Ewing, 80 N.M. 149, 151, 452 P.2d 483, 485 (Ct. App. 1969).
The proximate cause issue takes on a particularized form in cases involving claims of negligent selection of independent contractors. Comment b to Section 411 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts specifically provides:
The employer of a negligently selected contractor is subject to liability under the rule stated in this Section for physical harm caused by his failure to exercise reasonable care to select a competent and careful contractor, but only for such physical harm as is so caused. In order that the employer may be subject to liability it is, therefore, necessary that harm shall result from some quality in the contractor which made it negligent for the employer to entrust the work to him. Thus, if the incompetence of the contractor consists in his lack of skill and experience or of adequate equipment but not in any previous lack of attention or diligence in applying such experience and skill or using such equipment as he possesses, the employer is subject to liability for any harm caused by the contractor's lack of skill, experience, or equipment, but not for any harm caused solely by the contractor's inattention or negligence. Id.
Below, Plaintiffs' theory was that the Hospital was negligent in employing MAT, insofar as the Hospital failed to establish criteria for the selection of an air ambulance service provider and the Hospital failed to investigate MAT's record and qualifications. Plaintiffs specifically asserted that if the Hospital had engaged in these activities, it would have discovered that MAT was poorly qualified to provide air ambulance services based on its unsatisfactory safety record and the relative lack of training and experience of its pilots. Accordingly, Plaintiffs' claims were premised on a theory that MAT lacked appropriate policies to address safety issues, employed pilots who lacked the necessary skill and experience, or both. These were the qualities that allegedly made it negligent for the Hospital to employ MAT and that allegedly led to the crash.
Applying comment b to Section 411, the Hospital contends that Decedent's death did not result from the qualities that allegedly made MAT's employment negligent. In this regard, the Hospital focuses on the undisputed testimony of the expert witness, who opined that the direct cause of the accident was pilot negligence, either in the form of overly aggressive maneuvering or in the form of failure to perform a standard pre-flight safety check of the helicopter's hydra
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