Opinion ID: 2186005
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether the trial court erred in instructing the jury on the issue of contributory negligence.

Text: Freeman contends that the jury should not have been permitted to determine the degree of any negligence on his part. He claims there was inadequate evidence on the issue, and that his alleged negligence was not any legal cause of his injuries. The first accident occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m. when it was just getting dark. It was rush hour, traffic was heavy, and Freeman's headlights were off. Officer Cripps arrived a few minutes later and pulled in front of the two vehicles. Within minutes, the second accident occurred. Berg, whose deposition was read at trial, testified that a street light was out, it was dark, and he did not see Freeman's parked vehicle. During the trial, there was extensive testimony concerning the illumination of Freeman's vehicle. Officer Cripps testified that he thought he saw lights illuminated on the rear of Freeman's pickup when he approached the accident scene. Officer Brown, an accident reconstructionist, testified that in his opinion Freeman's lights were not on at the time of impact. Berg stated the lights were not on when he ran into Freeman. Freeman's expert testified that he was unable to determine whether the lights were on or off at the time of the accident. The jury was instructed that it must reduce Freeman's damages if Freeman was himself contributorily negligent in a degree less than slight compared to that of City. [1] `Contributory negligence is conduct for which plaintiff is responsible, amounting to a breach of duty which the law imposes upon persons to protect themselves from injury, and which, concurring and cooperating with actionable negligence for which defendant is responsible, contributes to the injury complained of as a proximate cause.' Gerlach v. Ethan Coop Lumber, 478 N.W.2d 828 (S.D.1991) (quoting Starnes v. Stofferahn, 83 S.D. 424, 432, 160 N.W.2d 421, 425 (1968)). Certainly, the jury could have found that Freeman was negligent if it believed his lights were not on. This is particularly true considering it was dark and traffic was heavy. Under these circumstances, we believe there was sufficient evidence to support the instruction on contributory negligence. Schelske v. South Dakota Poultry Co-op, 465 N.W.2d 187 (S.D.1991); Ballard v. Happy Jack's Supper Club, 425 N.W.2d 385 (S.D.1988); Stenholtz v. Modica, 264 N.W.2d 514 (S.D. 1978).