reason for accident was a heart attack

sharon37127 · #1 01-11-2006, 03:38 PM

I am in Tennessee and have a question about the negligence determination of an auto accident. I am referring to an accident in which there was loss of life, but the accident began because a driver had a heart attack and was unconscious. The driver then caused the rest of the accident. The driver only carried the state minimum liability insurance which one can only assume the costs of everything would be far greater. The driver that had the heart attack and started accident was killed. Is he still considered liable and/ or negligent? Is the surviving spouse liable if the surviving family of the victims sues? thank you

stephenk · #2 01-11-2006, 10:01 PM

It might not be that easy to collect anything. Answer this question: how was the driver who had the heart attack negligent?

sharon37127 · #3 01-15-2006, 06:24 PM

I dont believe he was doing anything negligent- according to police and autopsy reports. But obviously he was at fault because he started the accident. Would negligence involve his medical history too? He did have 2 heart attacks a few years ago, but was under no restrictions from his doctor or by his license. Is this going to get into details about his medical history? The reason I am asking this is because he was killed and we want to know if his spouse is reponsible for money over his liability coverage (state minimum).

PS It seams like after these circumstances, only carrying state minimum liability insurance should be considered NEGLIGENCE!

justalayman · #4 01-15-2006, 06:39 PM

I don't know the answer concerning the liability of the deceased but his wife would not be liable for anything.

The deceased's estate would be the entity you would recover from.

teflon_jones · #5 01-15-2006, 10:37 PM

The short answer that applies in the vast majority of cases is that heart attacks are considered acts of god and the driver can't be held liable.

The longer answer is that whether the driver was liable or not largely depends on his medical history and whether he had any restrictions on driving placed on him by his doctor(s). If his doctor(s) had advised him not to drive because of a medical condition, then he could be held liable.

stephenk · #6 01-16-2006, 02:35 PM

At this point the estate of the dead guy is probably gone with everything being transferred to the wife or through his will.

Your only viable option is to make a claim with his insurance carrier. However, being the cause of the accident does not mean he was negligent. Unless he was restricted from driving by the state or his doctor, you may end up with nothing. Sorry.