South Georgia Woman in Car Accident After Apparent Heart Attack in Jacksonville, Florida
A woman driving to her home in South Georgia on State Road 21 near Jacksonville, Florida ran her vehicle off of the road and into the woods, according to a news article. Apparently, the woman was not injured in the crash, but she was unconscious and in serious condition when the police arrived due to an apparent heart attack she had while driving.
This kind of traffic accident brings up an issue that arises from time to time in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. Although no one was apparently injured as a result of the crash in this case and there is no evidence that foul play was involved, there are traffic crashes and resulting lawsuits where the driver who caused the crash claims that he/she suffered from some sort of medical problem or prescription drug reaction immediately prior to the crash. This kind of defense is asserted to avoid responsibility for the accident and resulting injuries by claiming the accident was out of their control. However, these defenses are rarely valid. In personal injury cases, we have seen where defendants who have used these excuses are apparently up and walking around and seemingly fine immediately after the accident when the police arrive. It is hardly credible for a person to say that they "blacked out" just before the crash but were fine minutes before the crash and immediately afterwards.
Additionally, it is also highly suspect when a person claims that a medical condition or drug reaction occurred for the first time immediately before the crash with no prior notice. It is one thing for a person to establish that they did in fact have some medical problem immediately prior to the crash which caused the crash. If they are able to do that, that driver must also prove that the medical problem or drug reaction was unforeseeable. In other words, if the person had a prior diagnosis or warning from a doctor or was given a prescription drug with warnings about driving while taking the drug, they cannot successfully argue that they could not foresee the possibility of the medical problem or reaction occurring while driving. On the contrary, personal injury/wrongful death lawyers for the injured party or the family of the person who died in the crash can use this information to show that the driver was not only negligent in his/her actual driving but was also negligent by getting in the car in the first place after being warned of the dangers of a possible medical problem or drug reaction.
