Nelson v. Carroll

CHASANOW, Judge.

This case requires that we determine the extent to which a claim of accident may provide a defense to a civil action for battery arising out of a gunshot wound. Charles A. Nelson, the plaintiff in this case and the petitioner here, asserts that the trial court should have held Albert Carroll, the defendant and respondent, liable for the tort of battery as a matter of law, sending to the jury only the issue of damages. We agree with Nelson that a claim of “accident” provides no defense to a battery claim where the evidence is undisputed that Nelson was shot by Carroll as…