Florida's Supreme Court rules that a grant of summary judgment to a nursing home in a slip-and-fall case was in error, finding that the nursing home's mode of operation may have created a foreseeable risk or that employees perhaps should have seen a single grape on a hallway floor. Markowitz v. Helen Homes of Kendall Corp. (Fla., No. SC96244, Sept. 5, 2002).
While Patricia Markowitz was visiting her mother in a nursing home owned by Helen Homes of Kendall Corporation, she slipped on a grape and fell, seriously injuring herself. The accident occurred in a hallway not far from a dining hall that residents were leaving following lunch. Residents were allowed to take food from the dining hall to their rooms, and Helen Homes acknowledged that the grape probably was dropped on the floor by a resident. Mrs. Markowitz sued, alleging that Helen Homes'' mode of operation was negligent because its policy of permitting elderly residents to carry food from the dining room to their rooms without assistance or supervision created a foreseeable and unreasonable risk, and, alternatively, that three nurses in the vicinity of the fall saw or should have seen the grape. The Third District Court of Appeal granted Helen Homes' motion for summary judgment, determining that no genuine issue of material fact existed on the issue of the nursing home's negligence.
The Supreme Court of Florida reverses, ruling that the grant of summary judgment was in error because there was an issue of fact as to whether Helen Homes'' mode of operation created a foreseeable risk of food spillage, and alternatively, whether Helen Homes had constructive knowledge of the presence of the unsafe condition.
To download the full text of this decision in PDF format, go to the following link: https://www.flcourts.org/sct/sctdocs/ops/sc96244.pdf.
Subscribe to the Knowledge Bank.
