In re Health Care Unlimited, Inc. (Per Curiam)
Annotate this CaseThe estate and survivors of Belinda Valdemar sued Health Care Unlimited, Inc. (HCU) and its employee, Edna Gonzalez, after Valdemar died as a result of an automobile accident. Valdemar was a passenger in a vehicle that Gonzalez was driving at the time of the accident. The jury agreed that Gonzalez negligently caused the accident but found that Gonzalez was not acting within the scope of her employment at the time of the accident, and therefore, HCU was not vicariously liable. Valdemar’s survivors filed a motion for a mistrial, alleging that the presiding juror engaged in juror misconduct by communicating with an HCU employee during breaks while the jury was deliberating. The trial court granted the motion. HCU petitioned the court of appeals for mandamus relief, which was denied. The Supreme Court conditionally granted relief, holding that the trial court abused its discretion in granting a new trial, where the facts in this case, without more, did not support a finding that the communications between the juror and the HCU employee probably caused injury.
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