Sudden Medical Emergency Doctrine

People who cause wrecks have all sorts of excuses for why they’re not responsible.

The sun was in my eyes.

It was raining really hard.

A dog ran out in front of me.

Once the lawyers get involved another defense frequently appears. It’s called the Sudden Medical Emergency Doctrine.

We’ve seen this quite a few times over the years. Every time we do I think about a passage in The Sun Also Rises:

Q: How did you go bankrupt?

A: Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.

Like any other affirmative defense, the defendant has the burden of proof. And that means proving the defendant suddenly and unexpectedly suffered _______________ (let’s say, hemiparesis (inability to move or weakness on one side of the body)) prior to the collision.

More specifically, courts have held that the defendants must prove that (1) he was stricken by a sudden onset of hemiparesis, (2) he had no reason to expect that he would be stricken by hemiparesis, (3) hemiparesis rendered him unable to control his vehicle and (4) if he would not have experienced hemiparesis the collision would not have occurred.

The defendant is not going to be able to prevail if his medical history was positive for a significant risk of stroke including coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia and type 2 diabetes.

If there’s that kind of positive medical history the defendant would have had every reason to expect that at some point he would be afflicted by the symptoms that affected his ability to control an automobile.

Another interesting fact: When the defendant raises the Sudden Medical Emergency Doctrine all of a sudden the tables are turned. In most cases personal medical information is discoverable by the defense. Our clients want to know why it doesn’t go both ways. We tell them because your health is at issue, defendant’s is not. That all changes when the Sudden Medical Emergency Doctrine is played. All of a sudden we get to obtain all of the defendant’s medical records and can even have the defendant sent to a medical examination with a doctor of our choosing.

And it’s not just Hemingway. It’s hard not to think of Spinal Tap (the world’s loudest band) when the defendant makes a claim like this rather than just accepting responsibility:

“It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.”

If we can show the defendant drove despite knowing that he was at risk of having a medical emergency he’s basically DUI. Really no different than someone high on meth or three quarters of a bottle into the night. And that means the damages the jury awards are going to have a punitive flavor.