Day on Torts

Sudden physical incapacitation doctrine applied to heart attack in car accident case.

The sudden physical incapacitation doctrine was a defense to the plaintiff’s negligence claim in Elliott v. Monger, No. W2023-01783-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 10, 2024).

In Elliott, the plaintiff and defendant were involved in a car accident. The defendant was preparing to turn left onto an exit ramp, and the plaintiff was driving in the opposite direction. The defendant’s vehicle struck the plaintiff’s, and the plaintiff filed this negligence claim against the defendant and the defendant’s employer.

Both defendants filed motions for summary judgment based on the sudden physical incapacitation doctrine. In support of their motions, the defendants attached the transcript of the defendant driver’s deposition, as well as an affidavit from a cardiologist. In the affidavit, the cardiologist opined that the defendant’s medical records showed that the defendant suffered a heart attack immediately before the accident. The plaintiff provided no expert proof in response to the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. Summary judgment based on the sudden physical incapacitation doctrine was affirmed on appeal.

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