BIRDIE MAE COX AND RUBIN A. COX, HER HUSBAND, APPELLANTS,
v.
LIBBIE WAGNER, AND JACK WAGNER, HER HUSBAND, APPELLEES
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A domestic servant sued her employers after falling from a stepladder while changing a light bulb. The employer had stabilized the ladder but then abandoned that assistance to answer the doorbell, resulting in the plaintiff's fall. The court reversed a directed verdict, holding that once an employer undertook to provide safety assistance, she had a duty to continue it until the hazard ended.
Yes. Once a defendant undertakes to steady a ladder while a plaintiff is upon it, the defendant is under a duty to continue such assistance until the plaintiff no longer occupies a hazardous position. The directed verdict was therefore improper because evidence supported the plaintiff's allegations.
“It appearing that the defendant, Mrs. Wagner, having undertaken to steady the ladder while the plaintiff was upon it, she was under a duty to continue such assistance until such time as the plaintiff no longer occupied a hazardous position.”
This establishes the core legal principle that voluntary undertaking of protective measures creates a continuing duty to maintain those measures while danger persists.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBirdie Mae Cox, a domestic servant, was changing a light bulb on a stepladder in the home of her employers, the Wagners. The ladder began to shake as …
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Appellants, plaintiffs in the trial court, appeal from an adverse directed verdict.
The complaint sought recovery for personal injuries allegedly sustained while the plaintiff, Birdie Mae Cox [a domestic servant] was engaged in changing a light bulb in the home of her employers, the defendants, and while on a stepladder. She alleged that as she commenced to climb the ladder it began to shake, and the defendant-appel-lee, Mrs. Wagner, undertook to steady the ladder so that the plaintiff could complete the installation of the light bulb. Thereafter, while the plaintiff was still up on the stepladder, the appellee, Mrs. Wagner, released her hold on said ladder [which had been steadying it] and left the room to answer the front doorbell. Thereafter, the plaintiff fell from the ladder, suffering injuries.
*528 The evidence offered by the plaintiff tended to support the charge in the complaint, all reasonable inferences on a directed verdict being resolved in favor of the party moved against. See: Huff v. Belcastro, Fla.App.1961, 127 So.2d 476; Ahearn v. Florida Power and Light Company, Fla.App.1961, 129 So.2d 457. It appearing that the defendant, Mrs. Wagner, having undertaken to steady the ladder while the plaintiff was upon it, she was under a duty to continue such assistance until such time as the plaintiff no longer occupied a hazardous position. See: Smith Electric Co. v. Hinkley, 98 Fla. 132, 123 So. 564; Banfield v. Addington, 104 Fla. 661, 140 So. 893.
Therefore, the order of the trial judge directing the verdict is hereby reversed, and this cause is remanded for a new trial.
Reversed and remanded with directions.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Walston v. Florida Highway Patrol, 429 So. 2d 1322 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983)…negligent. Considering all of the evidence before it, I believe the jury could legally make that determination. . Even absent a duty, one who voluntarily undertakes to act is under a legal duty to act with reasonable care. See e.g. Cox v. Wagner, 162 So. 2d 527 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1964); Fidelity Life and Casualty Company of New York v. L.F.E. Corporation, et at, 382 So. 2d 363 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1980).…
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Wagner v. COX, 166 So. 2d 755 (Fla. 1964)…Certiorari denied without opinion. 162 So. 2d 527.…
Authorities Cited
- Banfield v. Addison S. Addington and Daisy T. Addington, 104 Fla. 661 (Fla. 1932)
- Ahearn v. Fla. Power & Light Co., 129 So. 2d 457 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961)
- Smith v. Hinkley, 98 Fla. 132 (Fla. 1929)
- Tropical Chevrolet, Inc. v. G. A. C. Fin. Corp. OF Miami, 127 So. 2d 476 (Fla. 3d DCA 1961)
- Huff v. Belcastro, 127 So. 2d 476 (Fla. 3d DCA 1961)