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City of Clinton v. Smith10/23/2003
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 8/12/2002
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY
DISPOSITION: REVERSED AND RENDERED - 10/23/2003
EN BANC.
. On February 5, 1996, Ernest Smith (Smith) fell while exiting the municipal court building in Clinton, Mississippi. Smith left the building by way of the handicap ramp. Due to the ice and snow on the ramp, Smith slipped and fell. Smith received medical treatment for his injuries from the fall.
. Smith filed suit against the City of Clinton in the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, on May 5, 1997. On January 31, 1997, written notice was given to Rosemary Aultman, as Mayor of Clinton, Mississippi, prior to filing suit regarding Smith's February 5, 1996, accident and the injuries which resulted. Circuit Judge Winston L. Kidd conducted a bench trial pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-13(1) (Rev. 2002). The trial court rendered a final judgment in the amount of $150,000 for Smith. From this decision, the City filed its appeal to this Court.
FACTS
. On February 5, 1996, Smith went to the municipal court building in Clinton, Mississippi to pay a fine for a DUI offense. The City concedes that the City of Clinton had been struck by a severe ice storm. Smith entered the building by the steps into the building. He observed ice and snow on the steps. Smith observed no warning or flags regarding the ice and snow accumulation. When Smith exited the building, he left by way of the wheelchair ramp. The City concedes that Smith slipped and fell exiting the building sustaining some injury.
. Paramedics took Smith to the Mississippi Methodist Hospital where he was treated and released on medication. A week or two later, Smith went to see Dr. Bill Spell at the University Hospital. Dr. Spell took x-rays. Smith was referred to Dr. Robert Smith (Dr. Smith), a neurosurgeon, for treatment by another doctor also named Dr. Robert Smith.
. Dr. Smith initially saw Smith on April 25, 1996. Dr. Smith saw Smith again on June 20, 1996, for his complaints of arm tingling, uncomfortable feeling in his right hand, trouble using his hands, weakness of his right wrist and absence of triceps and brachioradialis reflex on the right. Dr. Smith ordered further x-rays. The scan revealed a tight canal. The intervertebral foramen at C6-7 was severely comprised bilaterally. Dr. Smith stated that Smith must have contused a nerve root during his fall.
. Dr. Smith saw Smith again in September of 1996. A review of the MRI indicated a herniated disk at C7 and T1. Dr. Smith stated that based on Smith's medical history he "would have to assume there's a causation" between the fall and the herniated disk.
. During a visit in May of 1999, Dr. Smith referred Smith for a nerve conduction test. Reviewing the results of the nerve conduction test, Dr. Smith discovered C8 radiculopathy. To a reasonable degree of medical certainty, Dr. Smith attributed the injury to the fall. Dr. Smith last saw Smith on February 6, 2001.
. Dr. Smith determined that Smith had some permanent injuries proximately caused by the fall. Dr. Smith testified that Smith would probably require future medical care amounting to several thousand dollars a year. Dr. Smith felt that Smith would require treatment for four or five years after the injury. Since the accident occurred in 1996, Dr. Smith felt that by the time this deposition was taken on September 11, 2001, Smith should be getting to the stage where he would not need much future medical treatment. However, Dr. Smith stated that Smith will have some continued permanent pain. Dr. Smith's medical charges amoun
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