Dennis H. Hagenow and Rosalee A. Hagenow v. Betty L. Schmidt

WATERMAN, Justice.

In this appeal, we revisit the doctrine of legal excuse and the sudden emergency defense, as applied to a rear-end collision the jury could have found was caused by defendant’s stroke and resulting partial loss of vision. Plaintiffs’ truck was stopped at a red light in good weather when it was struck by defendant’s car. Defendant saw the red light but denied seeing plaintiffs’ vehicle. At the emergency room she noticed she could not see to her left. Testing confirmed she had suffered a stroke that caused a partial loss of vision. Defendant’s treating neurologist initially…