Court Opinion

ID: 9620098
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 05:38:20.091339+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:04:47.397930
License: Public Domain

McMurray, Presiding Judge,
dissenting.
In this wrongful death case I concur fully with the majority opinion finding no error in its consideration of the alleged errors in Divisions 2, 3, 4 and 5. However, I cannot agree that the trial court was authorized to charge the jury on the theory of accident.
Plaintiffs decedent was naturally unavailable to testify as to how the collision of the motor vehicles occurred. The petition alleged that the collision occurred when the defendant driver of a tractor-trailer (operated by the driver in the course of the owner’s business) approached the vehicle (pickup) driven by the decedent "at a high rate of speed and struck said pickup in the rear.” The defendants denied that the collision occurred in this manner but averred that the decedent was guilty of negligence in entering a highway without yielding the right-of-way to all vehicles approaching on the roadway. By amendment defendants contend the collision was unavoidable "insofar as the defendants are concerned” as the defendant driver could not by the exercise of ordinary care avoid the negligent acts of the decedent who created a perilous situation and proximately caused the collision in question, and "insofar as the defendants are concerned, the collision in question was an unavoidable accident.” During the trial the defendant driver testified that as he *25was driving north on a state highway approaching the scene where the wreck occurred, he observed the pickup truck leaving a house on the right side of the highway "coming towards the highway,” and "it was about halfway 'twixt the house and the highway when I first seen it moving this way,” that he pulled his airhom, "stomped my brakes,” and by that time "he was out on the road, coming down the road on my side, on the right hand side of the road.” That he did pull to the left to try to miss him but the collision just happened so quick he did not have time to do anything further. He further testified that the day was not cloudy but a clear, bright and sunny day and the collision occurred about 6 o’clock. To a question as to where the sun was shining, that is "[o]ver your shoulder,” his answer was: "Yes sir. From my back.” He further testified that at no time when he sounded his horn did the pickup truck make any effort to stop its movement. Other testimony discloses that the road into the state highway was an unpaved public roadway.
At no time have the defendants claimed this was an accident, that is, that neither party was negligent. Defendants clearly contend they were not negligent, although they do claim the collision was unavoidable "insofar as defendants are concerned.”
The proper use of the term "accident” excludes negligence, that is, without fault or carelessness or want of proper circumspection of the person affected or which could not have been avoided by the use of that kind and degree of care necessary to the exigency and in the circumstances in which the person was placed. See Code § 102-103. Richter v. Atlantic Co., 65 Ga. App. 605, 608 (16 SE2d 259); Morrow v. Southeastern Stages Inc., 68 Ga. App. 142, 146 (22 SE2d 336); Brewer v. Gittings, 102 Ga. App. 367, 376 (116 SE2d 500); Cartey v. Smith, 105 Ga. App. 809, 812 (125 SE2d 723); Ware v. Alston, 112 Ga. App. 627, 631-632 (2) (145 SE2d 721).
Neither the defendants’ answer nor any of the. evidence present a case of an accident or any question of accident. Plaintiff had to establish her case by the use of circumstances and the use of a reconstruction expert as to what occurred. The defendants contend that they were in no way negligent, and the collision resulted from the *26decedent’s own reckless misconduct and negligence in creating an emergency situation in entering a highway without yielding the right-of-way, leaving them with insufficient time to avoid a collision with the vehicle operated by the decedent. Defendants do allege, however, that "insofar as the defendants are concerned the collision in question was an unavoidable accident.” As the majority does state, there was some testimony that the defendant driver was proceeding in a northerly direction with the sun shining over his shoulder. The majority infers that the jury "may have concluded that the sun was shining directly into the decedent’s eyes and that this caused a temporary blindness which led to the collision without fault on his part.” This is simply an inference of the majority, and the evidence was insufficient for the jury to so infer from the evidence submitted by the defendant driver that he was proceeding in a northerly direction along the highway when plaintiff’s decedent entered the highway from his right, that is, the right side of the road and almost immediately the collision occurred.
In my opinion "the evidence plainly shows that the injuries of the [decedent] were due either exclusively to his own negligence, or solely to the negligence of the defendant [driver], or to the negligence of both the [decedent] and the defendant [driver].” Everett v. Clegg, 213 Ga. 168, 171 (97 SE2d 689). In Everett v. Clegg, supra, the Supreme Court held that where the evidence plainly shows as above "it is error for the court to charge the law of accident,” citing Morrow v. Southeastern Stages, 68 Ga. App. 142 (1), supra; Toles v. Hair, 83 Ga. App. 144 (2) (63 SE2d 3); and Bush v. Skelton, 91 Ga. App. 83 (84 SE2d 835). The court there stated: "The injection by the court of the theory of accident as a cause of the two vehicles colliding was calculated to detract the attention of the jury from the real issue in the case, and was reversible error. Morrow v. Southeastern Stages, supra.” I cannot agree under any circumstances that the trial court was authorized by either the pleadings or the evidence to instruct the jury that if you should find, from the evidence in this case, "that neither decedent nor the defendants were guilty of negligence, then any injuries or damages would be the result of an accident.” The trial court did *27then correctly charge the meaning of accident, that is, "an injury which occurs without being caused by the negligence either of the decedent or of the defendants” and added that the idea of accident excludes responsibility for the cause of the injuries, adding that if the jury found from the preponderance of the evidence that the decedent’s death was caused by accident, that is, "occurred without any lack of ordinary care and diligence on the part of the decedent or the defendants, then the plaintiff could not recover damages.” The evidence here simply did not authorize such a charge on accident inasmuch as I do not consider the defendant’s answer as raising an affirmative defense of accident, and plaintiffs evidence, as shown, was that the collision was "the fault of the defendants,” whereas the evidence presented by the defendants was that it was the fault of the plaintiffs decedent. This was indeed no accident. Somebody was at fault, both defendant driver and the plaintiffs decedent, or one, or the other.
Under the case of Everett v. Clegg, 213 Ga. 168, 171, supra, this portion of the charge on "accident” as given in the case sub judice was reversible error. See also in this connection Davenport v. Little, 132 Ga. App. 391, 393 (208 SE2d 179); Ault v. Whittemore, 73 Ga. App. 10, 15 (4) (35 SE2d 526) and 73 Ga. App. 16, 18 (3) (35 SE2d 530); Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Jones, 132 Ga. 189, 196 (63 SE 834); Henson v. Putnam, 123 Ga. App. 254 (180 SE2d 269); Sheppard v. Sheppard, 114 Ga. App. 451 (151 SE2d 883). This was not a case in which the defendant was contending that he could not be guilty of negligence by reason of an accident.
This was not a case of a pure casualty which exists without fault or carelessness on the part of either party. Massey v. Ga. Power Co., 85 Ga. App. 593, 596 (69 SE2d 824); Zayre of Ga., Inc. v. Haynes, 134 Ga. App. 15, 16 (2) (213 SE2d 163); Gilbert v. Parks, 140 Ga. App. 550, 552 (4) (231 SE2d 391). The collision certainly was not an "Act of God.” See Central Ga. Elec. Membership Corp. v. Heath, 60 Ga. App. 649, 652 (4 SE2d 700).
It simply cannot be said that the collision was unavoidable or inevitable. Someone was guilty of negligence.
*28I therefore respectfully dissent.
I am authorized to state that Judge Smith and Judge Carley join in this dissent.