A Wrongful Death suit was recently settled in Las Vegas by Allen A. Cap, who represented the heirs and Estate of a person killed when his pickup was struck by another truck that had run a red light. The other driver claimed to have lost consciousness as a result of an epileptic seizure, and his insurance company claimed that they were immune from paying under the Sudden Medical Emergency Doctrine, which has never been adopted in the State of Nevada.
Las Vegas, NV – October 21, 2009 (PressReleasePivot) — A Wrongful Death suit was recently settled in Las Vegas by Allen A. Cap, who represented the heirs and Estate of a person who died as a result of a traffic accident in December, 2004. The decedent died when his pickup was struck by another truck that had run a red light. The other driver claimed to have lost consciousness as a result of an epileptic seizure. The other driver’s insurance company claimed that they were immune from paying for the death under the Sudden Medical Emergency Doctrine. This Affirmative Defense has never been adopted in the State of Nevada.
In this case, the son of the clients represented by Cap & Kudler was killed instantly as a result of the other driver running a red light. The other driver claimed that he had had an epileptic seizure. There was no proof that the seizure actually occurred. The other driver’s insurance company attempted to defend this case under the “Sudden Medical Emergency Doctrine”. This Affirmative Defense has been adopted in Ohio and a few other states, but has not approved as a valid defense by the Nevada Supreme Court.
Where it has been accepted, the Sudden Medical Emergency Defense is available to Defendants who cause an accident while impaired by a Sudden Medical Emergency such as a heart attack. Those states which have approved this Defense require that the emergency be both sudden and unforeseeable. In this case, expert witness testimony showed that the Defendant failed to take his anti-seizure medications as instructed by his doctor. Allen A. Cap notes that the “Defendant’s failure to follow his doctor’s orders made this accident foreseeable.”
Allen A. Cap comments that the doctrine is unfair to the victims of accidents, saying, “If the Doctrine is allowed, then the victims of personal injury accidents bear the burden of another’s illness.” Cap goes on to note that, in a case such as this, “only the Defendant’s insurer benefits from the Sudden Medical Emergency. The Victim and / or the community become responsible for the medical bills, loss of income and future care suffered by the victims and their families as a result of the accident.”
After investigating the Defense, Allen A. Cap concludes “The end result of adopting the Sudden Medical Emergency Defense is that accident victims of these unfortunate accidents, regardless of the degree of their injuries, would not be able to collect their damages from any liability insurance or from their own uninsured motorist coverage. This makes absolutely no sense. The Sudden Medical Emergency Doctrine is not logical and should not be accepted.”
About Cap & Kudler:
Allen A. Cap, of Cap & Kudler, has been representing victims of personal injury accidents since 1984. He has also represented the heirs of persons killed in other automobile accidents in wrongful death product liability litigation.
Cap & Kudler have represented hundreds of victims of personal injury accidents who were injured as a result of automobile accidents, slip and fall accidents, medical malpractice and other injuries. Allen A. Cap and Donald C. Kudler also represent individuals and businesses in regards to contract, employment and other business related matters, both pre- and post-litigation. Visit Cap & Kudler’s web site, e-mail press@capandkudler.com or call 702-878-8778 for information.
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