Victoria Roach v. State of Rhode Island

Citations

• 157 A.3d 1042
• 2017 WL 1390861
• 2017 R.I. LEXIS 45

Syllabus

This civil matter came before the Court on appeal from a Superior Court judgment in favor of the plaintiff, Ms. Victoria Roach. The plaintiff slipped and fell during a shift as a per diem contract nurse at the Rhode Island Veterans Home on November 10, 2008. The state moved for judgment as a matter of law, a new trial, and to amend judgment and grant a remittitur. The trial justice denied the motion for judgment as a matter of law and a new trial, but granted a remittitur. The remittitur lessened the plaintiff's award from $500,000 to $382,000 however, the prejudgment interest award increased the judgment to $631,373.66. On appeal, the state argued that: (1) the public-duty doctrine shielded the state from liability (2) the statutory tort cap in G.L. 1956 § 9-31-2 limited damages to $100,000 (3) the prejudgment interest award was improper (4) the trial justice erred in denying the state's motion for judgment as a matter of law and (5) the trial justice erred in failing to instruct the jury on comparative negligence. The Supreme Court held that the public-duty doctrine did not shield the state from tort liability nor did the statutory tort cap limit damages to $100,000. The Court also deemed the award of prejudgment interest appropriate. Under the public-duty doctrine, the Court concluded that the relevant function at issue—care for nursing home resident-patients—was not a discretionary governmental function incapable of private-party performance, and thus, the state was not immune in tort. With respect to the statutory tort cap, the Court deemed resident-patient care a proprietary function, such that damages against the state were not capped at $100,000. Similarly, because the state engaged in a proprietary function, the Court deemed the prejudgment interest award appropriate. The Court reiterated that a party is not required to request prejudgment interest by motion because the award of prejudgment interest is a ministerial act by the clerk of court. Additionally,