Novak vs. Continental Tire

03.21.2018

Victory in the Court of Appeal after 11 years of litigation. The original 2005 auto injury case had been dismissed for failure to prosecute. Subsequently, the Plaintiff died in an intersection accident in 2011, while riding a mobility scooter (required after his 2005 injuries). The decedent's estate filed a new wrongful death action against Defendant alleging "but for" the 2005 auto accident, decedent would not have been using a mobility scooter or been struck and killed in the subsequent 2011 intersection accident. The Court of Appeal held that the 2011 accident was in fact an unforeseeable intervening cause of death, and found in favor of the Defendant.