Neurologist Wants Lawsuit Spawned by Blackout Driver Dismissed

A neurologist wants the [Pennsylvania] state Superior Court to throw out a lawsuit alleging he is responsible for a car crash that killed two people because he failed to tell a patient who suffered from blackouts -- or notify PennDOT -- that it wasn't safe for him to drive.

Attorney James A. Wood told a three-judge panel on Wednesday that past court decisions show Dr. Mark Hospodar can't be held responsible for the actions of his patient, Jack Smith, 53.

Smith was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to three to six years in prison for an October 2000 crash that killed Patricia Schick, 54, and Sherri Zeis, 27, who was nine weeks pregnant with her first child. Smith had blacked out prior to the crash.

"My position is simply that Dr. Hospodar did not have a (legal) duty to Mrs. Zeis and Mrs. Schick," Wood said after the arguments. "Unfortunately, Mr. Smith manipulated the system."

Details here from NEPA News.

Comments

[Arvind]

The link is no longer active. But fear not, I found another site that has it.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/309084889241513.bsp

I had Torts last semester so this was interesting to me. One of the questions on our final exam dealt with a somewhat similar fact pattern.