Brown v. Florida Health Sciences Center, Inc. (d/b/a Tampa General Hospital)
A hospital visitor was attacked by another patient who had been behaving erratically; the trial court granted summary judgment for the hospital, finding the visitor was a trespasser after visiting hours and, alternatively, that no foreseeable zone of risk existed because the attacker's mental illness was undiagnosed. The Second District reversed, holding that the visitor's status as invitee or trespasser and the existence of a duty based on a foreseeable zone of risk were unresolved factual questions for the jury.
Key facts
- A hospital visitor was attacked by another patient while on hospital premises after visiting hours; the visitor had been asked to leave but was saying goodbye to her father when the attack occurred.
- The trial court granted summary judgment for the hospital, finding the visitor was a trespasser and alternatively that no foreseeable zone of risk existed because the attacking patient's mental illness was undiagnosed.
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Why it matters
Useful precedent for plaintiffs in premises and institutional-control negligence cases: the opinion rejects the argument that a defendant escapes duty because the dangerous person's condition was formally 'undiagnosed,'… — full analysis with a trial
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