DENNIS H. HAGENOW and ROSALEE A. HAGENOW, Plaintiffs-Appellants, vs. BETTY L. SCHMIDT, Defendant-Appellee., 834 N.W.2d 82

Summary

In the negligence action, which was brought after a vehicle driven by defendant ran into the rear of plaintiff's vehicle as he was stopped at an intersection for a red light, the trial court erred in instructing the jury on the sudden emergency defense. Defendant claimed that she was unaware she had a stroke and was unaware she had lost half her visual field; thus, due to no fault of her own she did not see plaintiff's vehicle. Significantly, defendant neither took action nor reacted to the emergency. Thus, the claim did not fit within the explanation of a "sudden emergency" as instructed.