Opinion ID: 1924119
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: whether the trial court erred by excluding evidence of previous accidents.

Text: ¶ 6. At trial, Yoste proffered the testimony of two Wal-Mart patrons who also fell in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Marie Banes testified that four months prior to Yoste's fall, she tripped on uneven pavement and fell in the Wal-Mart parking lot. She testified that she reported her fall to Wal-Mart employees. Margaret Thomas stated that less than one month prior to Yoste's fall, she tripped on uneven pavement and fell in the parking lot. Both Banes's fall and Thomas's fall occurred approximately 60-80 feet from where Yoste fell. Yoste argues that this evidence was admissible for the purpose of showing that Wal-Mart had notice of the allegedly hazardous condition in its parking lot. ¶ 7. The standard of review regarding the admission or exclusion of evidence is abuse of discretion. Tatum v. Barrentine, 797 So.2d 223, 230 (Miss.2001) (citing Thompson Mach. Commerce Corp. v. Wallace, 687 So.2d 149, 152 (Miss.1997)). The trial court held that the proferred testimony was inadmissible for the purpose of showing that Wal-Mart had notice of the allegedly hazardous condition in its parking lot. We find that the trial court was well within its discretion in excluding this evidence. ¶ 8. Evidence of prior accidents may be used to show two thingsthe existence of a dangerous condition and the defendant's notice or knowledge thereof. Parmes v. Illinois Cent. Gulf R.R., 440 So.2d 261, 264 (Miss.1983) (citing Illinois Cent. R.R. v. Williams, 242 Miss. 586, 605-06, 135 So.2d 831, 839 (1961)). In the case sub judice, Yoste was attempting to prove that Wal-Mart had notice of the allegedly dangerous condition, the uneven pavement. Evidence of prior accidents, however, is admissible only upon a showing of substantial similarity of conditions. Id. ¶ 9. Even disregarding the fact that the prior accidents did not occur in close physical proximity to that at issue, it is clear from the record that Yoste failed to establish a sufficient factual basis regarding his own claim to enable the trial court to compare the facts of the other accidents to establish that they were, in fact, similar. The only similarity between the prior accidents and that of Yoste was that Yoste, Banes, and Thomas tripped and fell in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Yoste's own testimony indicates, though he claimed in this action that he tripped on uneven pavement in the parking lot, that he does not, in fact, know what caused him to fall. Yoste testified that he did not look down at the parking lot just before his fall and that, after he fell, he did not look back to examine the ground to determine what had caused him to fall. It was Yoste's impression, which he conveyed to family members, that he stepped in a pothole. In a recorded statement given several months after the alleged incident, Yoste stated that he had no idea what he tripped on. Though he claims in this action that he tripped on an unlevel portion of the parking lot, he admitted at trial that it was possible that he tripped on debris. Yoste simply did not submit evidence of his own fall to enable the trial court to find that the prior accidents were substantially similar. ¶ 10. The admission of the prior accidents, of questionable probative value in light of the fact that the accidents did not occur in the near vicinity of Yoste's fall, was exceedingly likely to prejudice the defense particularly in light of Yoste's failure to establish what caused him to fall. The danger existed that the jury would take the evidence that other falls were caused by uneven pavement as evidence that Yoste had in fact established that he, likewise, tripped on uneven pavement. Rule 403 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence permits the exclusion of relevant evidence where its probative value, tenuous in light of the lack of physical proximity as well as Yoste's failure to establish causation, is substantially outweighed by its tendency to mislead, confuse or prejudice the jury. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the evidence of prior accidents.