Snyder v. Turk
627 N.E.2d 1053 (1993)
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Rule of Law:
A battery is committed when an actor intends to cause a harmful or offensive contact, and an offensive contact results; intent to cause physical injury is not required. Contact is considered offensive if it offends a reasonable sense of personal dignity.
Facts:
- Barbara Ann Snyder, a scrub nurse, was assisting Dr. Robert Turk in a difficult gall bladder removal operation.
- Throughout the procedure, Dr. Turk became increasingly frustrated with the surgery and with Snyder's performance, making several critical and demeaning comments towards her.
- When Snyder handed Dr. Turk a right-angle clamp he had requested, he threw it back onto her instrument tray.
- Dr. Turk then grabbed Snyder by her shoulder and gown, physically pulling her from a standing position down toward the patient's open surgical wound.
- As he held her, with her face approximately 12 inches from the wound, Dr. Turk screamed at her about needing longer instruments.
- Snyder was not physically injured by the contact but felt shocked, scared, and humiliated.
- After this incident, Dr. Turk continued to make comments to another doctor in Snyder's presence, calling her "incompetent" and suggesting she had "passive-aggressive behavior."
Procedural Posture:
- Barbara Ann Snyder sued Dr. Robert Turk in a state trial court for intentional infliction of emotional distress, civil battery, and slander.
- The case proceeded to a jury trial.
- At the close of Snyder's presentation of evidence, the trial court granted a directed verdict in favor of Dr. Turk on all claims.
- The trial court dismissed Snyder's complaint with prejudice.
- Snyder, as the plaintiff-appellant, appealed the dismissal to the Ohio Court of Appeals, an intermediate appellate court.
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Issue:
Does a surgeon commit battery when he intentionally grabs a scrub nurse and physically pulls her down toward a surgical wound to express frustration, even if he does not intend to cause physical injury?
Opinions:
Majority - Wilson, Judge
Yes. A surgeon commits battery by intentionally grabbing a nurse in a manner that is offensive to a reasonable sense of personal dignity, regardless of an intent to cause physical injury. The court adopted the Restatement (Second) of Torts' definition, which subjects a person to liability for battery if they act intending to cause a harmful or offensive contact, and an offensive contact results. The court found that reasonable minds could conclude Dr. Turk's act of grabbing Snyder and pulling her down was intended to be an offensive contact, even if not physically harmful. The court also reversed the directed verdict on the slander claim, holding that a jury could reasonably find that Dr. Turk's comments exceeded the scope of any qualified privilege that might exist in an operating room. The court affirmed the dismissal of the intentional infliction of emotional distress claim.
Concurring - Brogan, Judge
Yes. The judge agreed that the evidence was sufficient for a reasonable juror to find that Dr. Turk had committed a battery when he grabbed the plaintiff. However, the concurrence disagreed with the majority's decision on the slander claim. Judge Brogan would have affirmed the trial court's directed verdict on that claim, believing that a reasonable juror could not find that Dr. Turk’s remarks were not covered by a qualified privilege in the context of a stressful surgery.
Analysis:
This decision formally aligns Ohio's common law of battery with the modern Restatement of Torts definition, clarifying that the tort protects personal dignity as well as physical safety. It establishes that the requisite intent for battery can be satisfied by an intent to offend, not just an intent to injure. This lowers the threshold for plaintiffs in professional or workplace settings to bring claims for unwanted, demeaning physical contact, emphasizing that even non-injurious contact can be tortious if it is offensive to a reasonable person.
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