In many cases, a driver who has a heart attack and causes an accident wouldn’t be held liable for the damages involved. In essence, no driver would be blamed. Victims would be filing claims with their own insurers.
However, a driver who had forewarning about a dangerous condition that might cause them to become a hazard on the road could be found liable in a claim or civil trial.
Filing a successful claim against a driver who had a medical emergency can require a full investigation into a collision and the motorist’s medical history. A skilled California Car Accident Attorney can assist with this investigation and help you earn recovery support. Please contact Maison Law for a free case review to find out about every benefit available.
What to Know About an Accident Caused by a Heart Attack
Accidents caused by motorists undergoing cardiac arrest can often leave questions behind about who is at fault. When other vehicles are involved, cars could be damaged, and other drivers and passengers may suffer injuries. These incidents will often be completely unexpected and cause an incredible scare for other motorists.
Those victims may also come away with massive hospital bills and lost time at work. They may immediately want to file an insurance claim against the driver who was at the wheel of an out-of-control car. But when a medical emergency causes an accident, that driver might not face liability.
California’s Doctrine of Imminent Peril law, codified in the California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI), actually removes blame for drivers who have heart attacks at the wheel. The driver wouldn’t be found at fault if they suffered a heart attack without warning and caused a crash.
“Under the ‘sudden emergency’ or ‘imminent peril’ doctrine, ‘a person who, without negligence on his part, is suddenly and unexpectedly confronted with peril, arising from either the actual presence, or the appearance, of imminent danger to himself or to others, is not expected nor required to use the same judgment and prudence that is required of him in the exercise of ordinary care in calmer and more deliberate moments.’ ‘A party will be denied the benefit of the doctrine . . . where that party’s negligence causes or contributes to the creation of the perilous situation.’” (Abdulkadhim v. Wu (2020) 53 Cal.App.5th 298, 301–302 [266 Cal.Rptr.3d 636], internal citations omitted.)”
When no one is found at fault in an accident involving a sudden emergency, both drivers must file a claim with their own car insurance providers. But a basic car insurance policy in California generally covers only the damage you do to others (third-party). It usually wouldn’t help you if you were in an accident where no driver was found at fault.
You would only have protection if you had signed up for add-on coverage. These additional safeguards might include “collision” insurance to help pay for your car repairs or a “medpay” add-on to help pay your doctor bills.
Holding a Heart Attack Patient Liable for a California Car Accident
With the massive recovery costs involved with an accident, victims may have to challenge a driver’s claim of a “sudden emergency” after a heart attack to get financial assistance. A local car accident lawyer can help with this effort.
The key is in the text of the CACI instructions mentioning the party’s “negligence.” This exception means that if a driver had prior knowledge of a likelihood of a heart episode and still got behind the wheel, they might not escape blame.
A skilled attorney could examine the driver’s medical records to determine how serious the heart condition was considered before the accident.
These and other factors can help accident victims hold a heart attack patient liable for a crash:
- Ignoring a doctor. It’s possible that a doctor had already warned a heart patient not to drive. When drivers ignore these types of warnings and prior episodes.
- Failure to treat a condition. Drivers may have stopped taking critical heart medicine, contributing to an accident.
- Reckless driving. Beyond a dangerous heart ailment, drivers may have been speeding or driving aggressively at the time of their accident. These actions, combined with a known heart risk, can leave a patient liable for their lack of care shown to other drivers.
Your attorney will also take the normal steps to show how the accident unfolded. This would include getting powerful testimony from eyewitnesses. It might involve the expertise of an accident reconstruction team to show how an accident occurred.
When to Contact a Lawyer
If your accident was caused by another driver, and you emerged with serious injuries, like a broken bone or brain trauma, a lawyer can provide a powerful advantage. This might be an advantage you need if the other driver is claiming no fault in the accident due to a medical emergency. This could be a valid excuse, but there may also have been strong warnings that the driver ignored. This lack of action could leave a driver who had a heart attack liable for your smashed car, all of your ER bills, and your lost paychecks while you’ve missed work.
Take advantage of a free case review with a real lawyer at Maison Law to stay informed of all of your options. There’s no obligation for your free case review, but if you do need our help, you don’t have to stress about how a lawyer will get paid. Maison Law doesn’t get an attorney’s fee unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement money you and your family receive.
