Emerson Straw trial lawyers file wrongful death lawsuit in Pinellas County, Florida circuit court against St. Anthony's Hospital and Baycare Health System after patient dies from injuries caused in a slip and fall accident

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Aug. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 4, 2019, the daughter of a patient who died in a Pinellas County, Florida hospital sued St. Anthony's Hospital, Inc. and Baycare Health System, Inc. The complaint alleges that the defendants were vicariously responsible for the slip and fall that caused the death of the plaintiff's mother, Mildred Powell Green.

The decedent's daughter, Latoya S. Green, who the court appointed as the personal representative of Mildred Green's estate, has brought legal claims against the defendants for herself and her brother, Julius Green, under Florida's Wrongful Death Act.

According to the lawsuit, on December 15, 2018, decedent Mildred Green was in her hospital room when a staff member mopped the floor. The lawsuit alleges that the cleaning solution made the floor slippery, but no verbal warning was given to the decedent, and no wet floor signs were placed. The lawsuit further alleges that at approximately 5 p.m., Mildred needed to use the bathroom located in her hospital room. She slipped and fell in the bathroom and hit her head on the sink, resulting in lethal injuries.

In the state of Florida, the parties that own, operate, control, and/or maintain a commercial property owe a duty of care to business invitees. That duty is breached when such parties (or one of their employees) have actual or constructive knowledge of a dangerous condition yet fail to remedy the condition within a reasonable amount of time or to post warnings about it.

When a business employee mops a floor and makes the surface slippery, this establishes actual knowledge of the dangerous condition. According to the lawsuit filed against St. Anthony's Hospital and Baycare Health System, the dangerous condition in Mildred Green's hospital room was not remedied within a reasonable timeframe, and Mildred (a business invitee) was not warned about it, thus constituting a breach of the duty of care, or "negligence." Per the complaint, this negligence was the actual or proximate cause of the slip and fall that led to Mildred Green's death.

The lawsuit does not specify a monetary amount being sought by the plaintiffs other than Latoya S. Green is seeking an amount for herself and her brother in excess of $15,000 for the decedent's pre-death pain and suffering; loss of services and support with interest; probable net income; replacement value of support services; lost net accumulations; funeral and medical costs; the surviving children's loss of parental support, service, companionship, guidance, and instructions; and mental pain and suffering. The medical malpractice lawyer representing Ms. Green's estate and her daughter is Wesley T. Straw of Emerson Straw PL in St. Petersburg, FL.

Wesley T. Straw, Esquire
Emerson Straw PL 
(727) 821-1500

SOURCE Emerson Straw