Legal Opinion
Kilburn v. Bush
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
Decided July 12, 1996PublishedCited by 5 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
OPINION OF THE COURT
Denman, P. J.
We are called upon to revisit an issue that we have previously ruled upon: what is the measure of liability for a driver who falls asleep at the wheel, thus causing an accident? We now hold that evidence that a defendant driver fell asleep creates a presumption of negligence that, if not explained or justified by the defendant, results in a verdict for the plaintiff. If the defendant attempts to rebut the presumption by competent evidence explaining his conduct, a question of fact is created for the jury. To the extent that our decision in Aiello v Garahan (91…
2Cases cited20 opinions
- Martin v. City of AlbanyNew York Court of Appeals · 1977
- Theisen v. Milwaukee Automobile Mutual InsuranceWisconsin Supreme Court · 1962
- Smith v. CzescelConnecticut Appellate Court · 1987
- Bernosky v. GreffSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1944
- Aiello v. GarahanAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1982
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3Cited by5 opinions
- Spivak v. HeywardAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1998
- Kuebler v. KueblerAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 2011
- Chan v. ChoiAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 2018
- Findley v. Alabama Power Co.Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama · 1998
- KUEBLER, JOSEPH v. KUEBLER, CHARLES R.Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 2011