Jogger Killed by Motorist: Will Sudden Medical Emergency Defense Come Into Play?
12/14/2007
Affirmative defenses--legal tools to avoid taking responsibility--seem to be multiplying and mutating. The sudden medical emergency defense is an example. And it is frequently applied to situations like this tragic one.
What do you think of the Sudden Medical Emergency Defense?
Last Saturday, a jogger was hit and killed by a motorist in Renton, Washington. The 37-year old was jogging along the northbound lanes of Duvall Avenue Northeast when a southbound car drifted across four lanes of traffic and struck the jogger from behind. The car then went down an embankment. The 34-year old driver sustained injuries. If the driver had a heart attack or even suffered a fit of coughing or sneezing, the defense attorneys (for both the liability and UIM carriers) will take a hard line that the driver is not liable for the death of the unfortunate jogger. At what point should the consequences of a medical emergency become the driver's responsibility?
