Cadena v. VA Puget Sound Health Care System, American Lake Division et al

Filing 53

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW; the Court hereby DISMISSES the complaint with prejudice; signed by Judge Ronald B. Leighton. (DN)

HONORABLE RONALD B. LEIGHTON

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT TACOMA

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CASE NO. C15-5610RBL

STEPHEN CADENA,
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Plaintiff,
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FINDINGS OF FACT AND
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

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Defendant.

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THIS MATTER came on regularly for trial on June 8, 2017, before the Honorable

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Ronald B. Leighton, United States District Judge, sitting without a jury. The Court, having

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considered the evidence before it, including the testimony of witnesses and the documents and

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exhibits that were admitted by the Court, having heard argument and considered the briefs and

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memoranda of counsel, having further considered its prior orders herein, and having reviewed

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the facts and records of this action, makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

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FINDINGS OF FACT

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1.

On the morning of June 19, 2012, Veterans Administration (“VA”) employee

Dianna Bradley, the chief supervisor in Building 132 at the American Lake VA Medical Center

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FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF
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(“American Lake”), observed that the automatic doors at the entrance to the building were stuck

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in the open position and would not close.

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2.

Later that morning, VA engineer Jeff Wells, VA carpenter Hilarion Careaga, and

VA locksmith Bruce Pentico arrived at Building 132 to check the automatic doors.
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To determine what was wrong with the doors, Mr. Wells turned off the power to

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the doors, then turned the power back on to allow the controls to the doors to cycle back on.

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They observed the doors continuously operating properly.

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4.

Mr. Wells then examined the sensor for dirt and grime that may have affected the

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door’s operation. While Mr. Wells was on a ladder in the middle of the six-foot wide doorway,

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Mr. Careaga and Mr. Pentico physically blocked the doorway to prevent people from walking

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through the very limited spaces on either side of the ladder and potentially making contact with

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Mr. Wells on the ladder. The three VA workers were wearing matching green uniform tops,

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which identified them as VA employees.

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5.

The automatic doors did not close while Mr. Wells was on the ladder inspecting

the overhead sensor.
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Approximately two or three times, Mr. Wells descended the ladder and removed it

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from the doorway so that people, who had stopped inside and outside the doorway at the

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entrance to Building 132, could pass through safely.

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7.

While Mr. Wells was on the ladder and Mr. Pentico and Mr. Careaga were

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blocking the doorway, Plaintiff Stephen Cadena approached the entrance to Building 132,

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walking directly toward it from Building 81, which is across the street.

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8.

Mr. Cadena had a walking staff in his right hand for balance.

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FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF
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9.

Mr. Pentico saw Mr. Cadena approach the doorway, stop for 10-15 seconds

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alongside other people who were waiting to use that entrance, and then proceeded to pass by the

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workers before Mr. Wells could completely descend from his ladder and clear the doorway.

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10.

Mr. Wells, from his position on the ladder, saw Mr. Cadena move past Mr.

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Careaga, walk through the tight space to the left of the ladder, and hit his left hand against the

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left door panel, which was in the open position.

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The automatic door panels did not close or otherwise move while Mr. Cadena

passed through the doorway.
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The next day, on June 20, 2012, Mr. Cadena sought medical attention for an

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injury to his left hand—not his wrist. VA doctor Ranjy Basa, M.D., examined Mr. Cadena and

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reported findings consistent with a hand injury. With respect to Mr. Cadena’s left wrist, Dr. Basa

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found “No joint effusion, no tenderness of wrist joint, no tenderness on any wrist bones, no

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hematoma.”

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13.

On September 13, 2012, Mr. Cadena was evaluated by Dustin Higbee, a

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physician’s assistant at the VA, who identified some potential “slight widening” of the

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scapholunate ligament in an x-ray of Mr. Cadena’s left hand and wrist. The x-ray indicated Mr.

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Cadena had early findings of a scapholunate accelerated collapse, which is a condition that pre-

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existed the alleged injury to his hand and is the likely cause of the scapholunate ligament tear in

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his wrist.

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On October 11, 2012, Frederic Johnstone, M.D., examined Mr. Cadena for the

purpose of diagnosing and treating pain he was experiencing in his left wrist.

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FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF
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Mr. Cadena was unable to tell Dr. Johnstone exactly what had caused the injury to

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his left wrist. The only potential mechanism of injury that Mr. Cadena identified was contact

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with the left door panel at the entrance to Building 132.

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A torn scapholunate ligament is routinely caused by a forward fall with hands

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outstretched, palms out. This is not what happened to Mr. Cadena at the canteen door. He hit the

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back of his hand near the knuckle of the thumb and index finger of the left hand. This impact is

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inconsistent with a scapholunate ligament tear.

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16.

On October 30, 2012, Dr. Johnstone—based on an MRI of Mr. Cadena’s left

wrist—diagnosed a torn scapholunate ligament and recommended an arthroscopic procedure on
Mr. Cadena’s left wrist, which he performed on November 19, 2012.
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In December 2013, Dr. Johnstone recommended that Mr. Cadena undergo a left

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wrist arthrodesis—or fusion—because he was continuing to experience pain in his left wrist after

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the arthroscopic surgery. The primary purpose of the surgery was to relieve Mr. Cadena’s left

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wrist pain.

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Mr. Cadena’s left wrist fusion was successful, achieving full fusion without

delayed healing.
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On November 24, 2015, Mr. Cadena’s occupational therapist, Mary Matthews-

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Brownell, documented that his left hand and wrist function had “declined which is not due to

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canteen fall [on June 19, 2012] but a fall after his L wrist had surgery” in April 2015.

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On April 12, 2016, Dr. Johnstone noted that Mr. Cadena reported a second fall on

his left wrist that had caused pain and swelling on the dorsal aspect of his left distal forearm.
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Mr. Cadena continued to report persistent pain in his forearm several months after

the second fall on his left wrist.

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FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF
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As a result of the fusion surgery, Mr. Cadena’s left wrist will not affect his ability

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to lead a normal independent life, will not prevent him from doing gripping activities with his

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left hand, will not prevent him from lifting or carrying items, nor will it prevent him from being

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productively employed.

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The VA previously covered the costs related to Mr. Cadena’s first wrist surgery.

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The VA has agreed to cover the costs associated with Mr. Cadena’s second wrist

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surgery.

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CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1.

Mr. Cadena brought this case pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”).

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This court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)(1). Venue is proper in the Western

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District of Washington pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1402 because the acts and omissions complained

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of occurred in this district.

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2.

Pursuant to the FTCA, the United States shall be liable for tort claims “for

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injury… caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the

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Government while acting within the scope of his office or employment, under circumstances

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where the United States, if a private person, would be liable to the claimant in accordance with

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the law of the place where the act or omission occurred.” 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)(1).

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3.

Because Mr. Cadena’s injuries occurred in Washington State, the law to be

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applied in this case is the substantive law of Washington State. See Conrad v. United States, 447

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F.3d 760, 767 (9th Cir. 2006).

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4.

Under Washington law, a party asserting a claim of negligence has the burden to

prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, duty, breach, causation and damage. See Tolliver v.

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United States, 957 F. Supp. 2d 1236, 1244 (W.D. Wash. 2012) (citing Keller v. City of Spokane,

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44 P.3d 845 (Wash. 2002)).

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5.

Mr. Cadena’s negligence claim fails because he did not prove, by a preponderance

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of evidence, that he was actually struck by an automatic door panel at the VA facility at

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American Lake on June 19, 2012.
a.

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There is no evidence to support Mr. Cadena’s claim that the left automatic

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door panel at the entrance to Building 132 detached from its physical connection to the

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right door panel, fired at three times its usual closing force, and struck him the precise

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moment that he was walking through the doorway.
b.

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The preponderance of evidence establishes that Mr. Cadena pushed past

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the VA workers and initiated contact with the door panel himself.

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6.

Under Washington premises liability law, a landowner, like the VA, “is not a

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guarantor of safety—even to an invitee.” Mucsi v. Graoch Assocs. Ltd. P’ship No. 12, 31 P.3d

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684, 690 (Wash. 2001) (citing Geise v. Lee, 529 P.2d 1054 (Wash. 1975)). Rather, the landowner

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has a duty to exercise reasonable care, which requires “maintaining premises in a reasonably safe

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condition.” Zenkina v. Sisters of Providence in Washington, Inc., 922 P.2d 171, 174 (Wash. App.

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1996) (internal citations omitted); see also Mucsi, 31 P.3d at 690.

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a.

Mr. Cadena has failed to prove, by a preponderance of evidence, that the

VA breached its duty to him to maintain its premises in a reasonably safe condition.
b.

The VA workers met the standard of care by taking reasonable precautions

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to create sufficient physical and visual barriers at the entrance to Building 132 while

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completing their inspection of the automatic doors.

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FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF
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7.

A proximate cause of an injury is defined as a cause which, in a direct sequence,

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unbroken by any new, independent cause, produces the injury complained of and without which

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the injury would not have occurred. See Stoneman v. Wick Constr. Co., 349 P.2d 215 (1960)

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(internal citations omitted). Proximate cause is composed of two distinct elements: (1) cause-in-

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fact and (2) legal causation. Hartley v. State, 698 P.2d 77, 82–83 (1985). Cause-in-fact refers to

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the “but for” consequences of an act, or the physical connection between an act and the resulting

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injury. Id. at 83. In contrast, legal causation “rests on policy considerations as to how far the

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consequences of a defendant’s acts should extend [and] involves a determination of whether

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liability should attach as a matter of law given the existence of cause in fact.” Id. at 779.
a.

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Mr. Cadena has failed to prove, by a preponderance of evidence, that “but

for” any action or inaction of the VA, he would not have torn his scapholunate ligament.
b.

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The preponderance of the medical evidence establishes Mr. Cadena’s

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scapholunate ligament injury was not caused by the automatic doors closing on him.

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8.

Given the record developed in this case, Plaintiff has failed totally to prove his

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case by a preponderance of the evidence, and the Court hereby DISMISSES the complaint with

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prejudice.

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Dated this 15th day of June, 2017.

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A

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Ronald B. Leighton
United States District Judge

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