Re: How can a dead driver be negligent?

On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:31:58 +0100, Airmax wrote:

"ian field" <dai.ode@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:cNs9k.44962$Kb.40288@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Mrcheerful" <nbkm57@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:yCs9k.17315$E41.4255@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Alasdair wrote:
A couple were travelling in a taxi when a car travelling in the
opposite direction swerved across the road and hit the taxi head-on
causing serious injury to the taxi driver and his passengers.

According to reports, the driver of the car which hit the taxi was
dead before he swerved across the road, having suffered an heart
attack at the wheel. His passenger was also fatally injured in the
crash.

This must have interesting legal consequences since how can a dead
person act negligently? He had no control over the vehicle after he
died.

I am interested to know (1) who can the taxi driver and his passengers
sue for damages for their injuries and (2) will the estate of the
passenger in the dead man's car be able to claim damages and, if so,
from whom?

isn't this what car insurance is for?


They probably declared it "an act of god" and refused to cough up!

His insurance terminated at the moment he died.

Did he have a history of heart disease? Had he had a heart attack
before (though not necessarily when driving)?

Are you in UK? This is a US ruling - do they have something similar
in UK?

http://www.ohiosupremecourt.gov/Justices/pfeifer/column/2003/jp090303.asp
<Q>
The sudden-medical-emergency defense

by Justice Paul E. Pfeifer

There are some things that can only be explained by just plain bad
luck. It was luck of the worst kind that had Spencer Schaffer, and
Ronald and William Gold riding in a car together on West 130th Street
in Cleveland at precisely the wrong moment on March 15, 1999. They
were southbound when an out-of-control northbound car came into their
lane and collided with them.

The other car was driven by Nino Gobbo. After turning onto West 130th
Street, Gobbo's car struck a glancing blow to another car,
accelerated, ran off the road, came back on the road, then off again,
hit a road sign, then went left of center and collided with at least
two southbound cars before coming to a stop.

Nino and his wife, Frances, were killed in the collision. So were
Schaffer and Ronald Gold. William Gold and the driver of the other
southbound car, Walter Roman, were both injured.

So what caused this accident? Was Gobbo distracted, intoxicated or
speeding? No. Nino Gobbo had suffered an incapacitating heart attack
prior to the accident. He was likely dead before he collided with any
other cars.

Roman and William Gold, and the families of Schaffer and Ronald Gold,
filed suit against the estate of Mr. Gobbo alleging that Gobbo had
negligently caused the injuries and deaths. The attorneys representing
Gobbo's estate denied that Gobbo was liable and they asserted the
defense of "sudden medical emergency," or "blackout."

The sudden-medical-emergency defense was established by our court -
the Supreme Court of Ohio - in a case dating back to 1956. In that
1956 case our court said, "Where the driver of an automobile is
suddenly stricken by a period of unconsciousness which he had no
reason to anticipate and which renders it impossible for him to
control the car he is driving, he is not chargeable with negligence as
to such lack of control."

So the trial court focused on two main questions: (1) Was Gobbo
stricken with a sudden medical emergency? and (2) Should Gobbo's
medical past and problems with his heart have caused him to foresee
that he was likely to suffer a heart attack while driving?

At trial, a doctor noted that the coroner's report stated that Gobbo
had died of hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (high
blood pressure combined with blockages in the blood vessels), and not
from trauma suffered in the accident. In the doctor's opinion, based
on Gobbo's medical records, his driving should not have been
restricted and his sudden cardiac death couldn't have been foreseen.
....
</q>
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Death crash mother faces sentence.
    ... So you are saying that the car was so overlaoded that it caused her ... passengers not being restrained - not enough seat belts to go around ... be a large distraction increasing the likelihood of a crash. ... Perhaps the same degree of blame as with a driver ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Whats going on here?
    ... driver capable of driving safely at high speeds. ... causing my passengers concern, then I would react to that concern whether I ... the car ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: How can a dead driver be negligent?
    ... the driver of the car which hit the taxi was ... I am interested to know who can the taxi driver and his passengers ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Whats going on here?
    ... ignore requests from his passengers to slow down if they thought he or she ... driver capable of driving safely at high speeds. ... It hasn't been about what ability the passenger has to control the car. ... knocking the vehicle out of gear - could make a dangerous situation much ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Open Source Leaving Microsoft Sitting on the Fence? Very Long.
    ... >>design of automobile control systems. ... > etc. is the responsibility of the driver, and I've rented vehicles in many ... > transmission than the car I rent in Phoenix or Orlando, ... > familiarize themself with the location of such controls and their operation, ...
    (comp.os.linux.misc)