Dedon v. Grant Chemical Co.
Dedon v. Grant Chemical Co.
Opinion of the Court
On July 31, 1959 plaintiff-appellee, Robert L. Dedon, Jr., an employee of Braswell Motor Freight Lines, went to the premises of Grant Chemical Company in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to load a cargo of 55 barrels of latex into his semi-trailer to be delivered to Esson Standard Oil Company. He was assisted in loading his trailer by a Mr. Santo A. Calandro, an employee of the Grant Chemical Company, and they completed the loading of his truck in approximately one hour’s time, at which time Dedon testified he entered the warehouse building of the defendant, Grant Chemical Company, Inc., to determine whether he was to pick up a bill of lading there or at the consignee’s address. He was accompanied into the building by Mr. Calandro and, it being a hot, sultry day, as Messrs. Dedon and Calandro entered the building Plaintiff testified he inquired of two employees of Defendant Company as to where he might obtain a drink of water and they pointed to an electric refrigerator located in the rear of the premises. Together Mr. Calandro and Plaintiff went to the refrigerator and removed therefrom two jars or gallon jugs, the one from which Mr. Calandro drank being filled with water and the one from which Mr. Dedon drank being partially filled with a chemical known as Methyl-Ethyl-Ketone peroxide. The jugs were similar in every respect with the exception that the jug from which Plaintiff drank the content was a brown stained glass whereas the one from which Calandro drank was clear glass. Upon removing the brown jug Plaintiff commented to Mr. Calandro “ * * * I said we will finish this one up so it can be refilled which the other two jugs were completely full.” Plaintiff obtained a Dixie cup from a stack on top of the refrigerator, poured the content from the brown jug into it and drank same. The jug from which he drank actually contained a chemical which is a catalytic agent known as MEK peroxide, a clear, malodorous liquid which was used by Defendant Company in order to change
Defendants maintain in this Court that the Trial Court erred in holding that the Plaintiff was an invitee of the Defendant Company at the time he consumed the chemical; in holding that the Defendant was negligent in failing to warn Plaintiff of the chemical; in holding that Plaintiff was not contributorily negligent in failing to observe the label on the jug; the viscosity or odor of the chemical while in the chemical plant; in holding that the Plaintiff had continued to suffer the effects of the chemical until the day of the trial or that his continued suffering, if such, was proximately caused by the accident.
Though employees of the Defendant Company testified that the bill of lading which Plaintiff maintains he entered the premises to obtain was to be picked up at the point of destination rather than at the Defendant’s plant and therefore Plaintiff had no business in the premises of the Defendant Company and certainly was not a business invitee, Plaintiff’s testimony that he entered the building with the intention of obtaining or inquiring about the bill of lading is uncontroverted, so despite the fact that he momentarily deviated from his expressed pursuit to obtain a drink of water does not have the effect of changing his status as a business invitee. “ * * * A person who goes upon premises for business purposes is not deprived of the right to protection against defects by the fact that at the moment of the injury he was not engaged in the business for which he came, but was pursuing a purpose of his own, provided he was pursuing it upon a part of the premises covered by the invitation, * * 38 Am.Jur., § 99, page 760.
Defendants relying upon the cases of Vargas v. Blue Seal Bottling Works, Ltd., 12 La.App. 652, 126 So. 707 and Thomas v. Buquet and LeBlanc, Inc., et al., La.App., 119 So.2d 129, maintained that the Plaintiff lost his status as an invitee and became a licensee when he went to the refrigerator for the water. Both of these cases are distinguishable from the facts of this case for in the cited cases Plaintiffs had completed their missions on the premises and remained for personal reasons. In the Thomas case, the Plaintiff actually had gone to a portion of the premises which was not included in the invitation. We observe, however, that under the facts of this case it makes no difference whether Plaintiff was actually an invitee or a licensee for, while concededly an invitee is owed a greater duty, the occupier of premises owes a duty to a licensee to warn him of danger if it is known to the occupier of the premises. Alexander v. General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corporation, La.App., 98 So.2d 730. According to the testimony of the Defendants all of the employees of the company were aware of the fact that this chemical was stored in the refrigerator along with the drinking water and cold soft drinks. We are firmly of the opinion that the warning, if any, which Plaintiff received as to the presence of the chemical in the container from which he imbibed was inadequate. Under the circumstances there was nothing to suggest to him that stored in the refrigerator along with the drinking water, Coca-Colas and 7-Ups would be this chemical, for in actuality the placing of this chemical in the same refrigerator along with the drinking water and soft drinks would lull one into a false sense of security in believing that the
In consequence of drinking the chemical Plaintiff sustained severe injuries. Following the accident he was taken to the hospital,
Subsequent to his discharge by Rieger Clinic in 1959 Plaintiff did not seek medical advice for his injuries until September,. 1960 when he returned to Dr. Matthews complaining of uncontrollable gastric disturbances making it impossible for him to eat many foods without difficulty. Additional tests were run and it was concluded that the lower part of Plaintiff’s esophagus did not function properly causing gastric acid in the stomach to back up into the lower part of the esophagus and, in addition, his condition was diagnosed as pylorospasm with spasticity of the duodenal bulb which, in lay terms, Dr. Matthews explained was a “preulcer”.
Defendants maintain that Plaintiff’s stomach condition was not related to the consumption of the chemical because of the fact the induced vomiting and some suspected vomiting previous to his having reached the hospital would have prevented the chemical from reaching the stomach. However, Dr. Matthews testified that in his opinion there was a definite causation and connection between the accident and the condition of the stomach and the esophagus-Though Dr. Matthews was of the opinion that probably the pylorospasm was psychosomatic, nevertheless he was of the opinion that it was the accident which caused the embalance in the nervous system resulting in Plaintiff’s complaints at the time of the trial.
Admittedly, the fixation of an award for damages for personal injuries sustained cannot be measured by a yardstick nor accurately nor mathematically calculated, but to some degree must result from the exercise of vested discretion, observation of the injured person, and to some extent an arbitrary determination of a monetary award compensable with the injuries sustained. In fixing the damages suffered by Plaintiff as a result of this accident, the Trial Judge awarded judgment in his favor
For the reasons assigned, the judgment of the Lower Court is affirmed at Appellants’ costs.
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.