Briggs v. State of California

Opinion

TAYLOR, J.

The state appeals from a judgment and certain orders 1 entered after a jury verdict awarding $365,000 damages for wrongful death to the widow 2 and children (hereafter collectively referred to as Briggs), and Aetna Casualty and Surety Company (hereafter Aetna), the workmen’s compensation carrier 3 for the employer of Charles R. Briggs, who was killed in a head-on collision after swerving into the oncoming traffic on a two-lane highway to avoid a mud slide that blocked his lane. The major contentions on appeal are the sufficiency of the evidence as to the state’s constructive…