This was an appeal from a trial court finding that there was coverage under an optometrist's general liability policy for a lawsuit brought against him by a patient. The patient suffered injuries, including a broken arm and a fractured wrist, when an examination chair rotated as she backed into it under the doctor's supervision and she fell to the floor.

The policy excluded coverage for accidents caused by rendering or failing to render "professional service." The trial court held the term to be ambiguous because the insurer had failed to define it in the policy. It determined that the facts of the case did not fall within the "professional service" exclusion and that the insurer owed a defense and indemnification duty to the insured.

On appeal, the insurer contended that the term "professional service" was not ambiguous and that the exclusion applied to the matter under review.

The appeal court agreed, saying that the trial court erred in finding ambiguity simply because "professional service" was not defined in the policy. It said that the term "has a plain meaning and that judicial construction was unnecessary." Finally, it found it clear that the patient was injured while the doctor was rendering a professional service, or failing to render it.

The judgment of the trial court was reversed in favor of the insurer and against the insured.

Editor's Note: A case in point, cited by the insurer, was found persuasive by the appeal court and appears noteworthy for circumstances of the kind reviewed here. It is American Policyholders Insurance Company v. Michota, 156 Ohio St 578: 103 NE.2d 817 (1952). Therein, the Ohio Supreme Court included in the definition of the term 'professional services' the maintenance, in a safe condition, of a metal hydraulic chair because the maintenance of the hydraulic chair was part of the chiropodist's 'professional service'."

(BERNTHAL, Plaintiff, Appellee v. AETNA CASUALTY & SURETY COMPANY, Defendant, Appellant. Michigan Court of Appeals. No. 124174. April 10, 1992. CCH 1993 Fire and Casualty Cases, Paragraph 4032.)