Baker v. Fenneman & Brown Properties, LLC
Indiana Court of Appeals
793 N.E.2d 1203 (2003)
Aaron Baker (plaintiff) fell unconscious and began convulsing inside a Taco Bell through no fault of the restaurant; the parties disputed whether an employee offered to call an ambulance, but afterward Baker stood up, fell again, and was severely injured. Baker sued the Taco Bell franchise owners (defendants), arguing they owed him a duty to render reasonable assistance after his first fall. The trial court granted summary judgment for Taco Bell on the theory that it owed no duty because it had no role in causing Baker's original medical episode, and Baker appealed.
Whether a business that holds its premises open to the public owes an injured or ill patron a duty to render reasonable assistance, even where the business had no responsibility for causing the initial illness or injury.