On April 2, 2013, a multi-vehicle accident occurred that included a tractor-trailer operated by Marcus D. Smith, a tractor-trailer owned by Werner Enterprises, and a personal vehicle operated by Ingeborg Steiner. As a result of the car accident, Marcus suffered a cervical fracture and multiple rib fractures. He was taken to the hospital for treatment and released the same day.
Upon his release, Marcus was prescribed Lortab, a pain medication that contains hydrocodone and acetaminophen. Marcus was initially prescribed fifty-six Lortab pills. Marcus’s wife, Leslie, followed the instructions on the medication bottle and gave Marcus two Lortab pills every six hours. But according to Leslie, Marcus would go behind her and take additional pills.
On April 8, 2013, emergency medical services (EMS) responded to the Smith home after Leslie called 911 due to Marcus’s impaired mental condition and combativeness. EMS noted that all fifty-six Lortab pills were gone. Marcus was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with acute liver failure due to acetaminophen toxicity. Upon discharge, Marcus was given a second supply of Lortab, this time 120 pills. Marcus ultimately died on September 24, 2013, from liver failure as a result of acetaminophen ingestion.
Leslie, as personal representative of Marcus’s estate, filed a wrongful-death action in Jackson County Circuit Court. Four of the originally named defendants were dismissed by agreed order. The remaining defendants filed a joint motion for partial summary judgment as to the wrongful death claim and argued that Marcus’s death from acetaminophen-induced liver failure was not legally foreseeable damage an ordinary, reasonably prudent person would expect to arise from a car accident. In response, Leslie argued it is well known that pain medication such as acetaminophen can lead to liver failure, making Marcus’s death a foreseeable consequence of the defendants’ negligence.
The trial court granted the motion for partial summary judgment and dismissed the wrongful-death claim. The trial court found that Marcus’s death as a result of acetaminophen-induced liver failure “was not legally foreseeable to the [d]efendants as a proximate cause of an automobile accident, as it [wa]s an unusual, improbable, or extraordinary occurrence arising out of the same.” All remaining claims were later settled by the parties.
Because of the trial court’s grant of partial summary judgment as to the wrongful death claim and the parties’ settlement of all remaining claims, there were no issues to be tried. As a result, a final judgment was entered. Leslie, on behalf of Marcus’s estate, timely appealed the trial court’s final judgment.
The Supreme Court of Mississippi stated in its en banc opinion dated February 22, 2024: “There can be no more
foreseeable a legal duty than the one owed by drivers to other drivers. After it is determined that the plaintiff is a reasonably forseeable plaintiff, the analysis turns to the question of whether the breach of duty is the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. This is a fact question for the jury … Dr. Julie [plaintiff’s expert] opined that the injuries borne by Marcus Smith were reasonably foreseeable consequences of his automobile collision, unequivocally stating that
“it was objectively foreseeable in April 2013 that an individual injured in an automobile collision may develop acute liver failure as a result of his treatment.” Marcus’s treatment was necessary due to the injuries he suffered in the car accident. The question of the foreseeability of a particular injury is one best left to the deliberation of a jury … Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, we find that Smith demonstrated a genuine issue of material fact that should be presented to a jury.”
Source Smith v. Minier, No. 2021-CT-01284-SCT.
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