Esposito v. Pharr Court Assocs. LP

After suffering a fall while visiting her husband who was a resident at a nursing home operated by Pharr Court Associates, L.P., d/b/a Nurse Care of Buckhead Pharr Court, Barbara Esposito commenced this action against Pharr Court asserting negligence claims. The trial court granted summary judgment for Pharr Court, concluding Esposito was a licensee when she entered the nursing home and Pharr Court did not breach the duty it owed her in that capacity. On appeal, Esposito contends the trial court erred in determining she was a licensee rather than an invitee, and that issues of material fact exist as to whether Pharr Court breached its duty to her as either an invitee or licensee.

We apply a de novo standard of review to an appeal from a grant of summary judgment, and we view the evidence, and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Citation and punctuation omitted. Bonner v. Southern Restaurant Group, 271 Ga. App. 497 610 SE2d 129 2005. So viewed, the record shows that on the afternoon of July 25, 2011, Esposito arrived at the Nurse Care of Buckhead facility to visit her husband, who had resided there for approximately a year but was going to be discharged the following day. Esposito testified that she visited her husband at the nursing home every day for seven to eight hours and did everything with him, accompanying him to eat and assisting with his grooming and care. After entering the facility on the date in question, Esposito walked toward an elevator located across the entrance lobby to the right. The reception desk was situated to Esposito’s right as she walked in and across the lobby to the elevator. Just before pushing the button for the elevator, Esposito remembered that her husband might be in physical therapy, so she stepped over to the left to look through the doors of the physical therapy room, which was down a hallway to the left of the elevator. As she moved to the left, her feet slid out from under her and up in the air and she came crashing down on her left side and hit her right elbow.