Hammontree v. Jenner

Facts

On the afternoon of April 25, 1967, Jenner was driving his 1959 Chevrolet home from work. Maxine Hammontree was working in a bicycle shop that she and her husband owned and ran. Without warning, Jenner's car crashed through the wall of the shop, struck her and damaged the shop. Jenner said he became unconscious during an epileptic seizure and lost control of the car. He did not remember the accident. He had a medical history of epilepsy, with seizures in 1952 and 1953. Several neurologists had examined him before 1952, concluded the condition could be controlled and placed him on medication. He testified that from 1955 until the accident he took phelantin regularly, and it controlled his condition. He did everything his doctors told him to do and had no warning that a seizure was coming. The Department of Motor Vehicles knew he was an epileptic and had placed him on probation, with regular reports from his doctor. His doctor testified that a person cannot drive during a seizure and that he believed it was safe for Jenner to drive. At trial the Hammontrees withdrew their negligence claim and chose to rely only on absolute liability, meaning liability without fault.

Issues

1. Should a driver who loses consciousness in a sudden seizure be held absolutely liable, without proof of negligence, for the injuries his car causes?
2. Does the strict liability that applies to manufacturers and sellers in products liability cases extend to drivers who lose control of a car because of a physical condition?

Holding

The trial court properly refused the Hammontrees' instruction making a driver absolutely liable when a seizure or health failure causes him to lose control: under existing law a suddenly stricken driver's liability generally rests on negligence, and the court declined to superimpose products liability's strict liability on drivers under the circumstances here. The instruction was also too broad, because it did not except a driver with no reason to anticipate the illness.