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Lara v. Knotts6/21/2000
consider and weigh all the circumstances or the best means to adopt in order to avoid an impending danger, is not guilty of negligence if he fails to adopt what subsequently and upon reflection may appear to be the better method, unless the emergency is brought about by his own negligence. Jackson, supra. Said another way, if a motorist has exercised ordinary care as required by law (or the highest degree of care as may be required), and has nevertheless inflicted injury on another, the accident is said to be inevitable, for which no liability attaches. Welch v. State, DOTD, 93-1134 (La. App. 3d Cir. 05/04/94), 640 So. 2d 596, writ denied, 94-1452 (La. 09/23/94), 642 So. 2d 1293. (Emphasis added.)
Applying these standards to the facts at hand, we find no manifest error in the trial court's conclusion that Ms. Knotts was free from fault. As the court noted, there was no evidence that Ms. Knotts was driving her vehicle too fast for the conditions; the mere fact of the accident is insufficient to warrant such a finding. Testimony supports the trial court's finding that, despite the chrome bumper and Ms. Knotts' reasonable care, Mr. Lara's unlit truck was not perceptible under the prevailing weather and lighting conditions.
La. R.S. 32:141 provides, in part:
A. Upon any highway outside of a business or residence district, no person shall stop, park, or leave standing any vehicle, whether attended or unattended, upon the paved or main traveled part of the highway when it is practicable to stop, park or so leave such vehicle off such part of said highway, but in every event an unobstructed width of the highway opposite a standing vehicle shall be left for the free passage of other vehicles and a clear view of such stopped vehicles shall be available from a distance of two hundred feet in each direction upon such highway.
B. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to the driver of any vehicle which is disabled while on the main traveled portion of a highway so that it is impossible to avoid stopping and temporarily leaving the vehicle in that position. However, the driver shall remove the vehicle as soon as possible, and until it is removed it is his responsibility to protect traffic.
C. The driver of any vehicle left parked, attended or unattended, on any highway, between sunset and sunrise, shall display appropriate signal lights thereon, sufficient to warn approaching traffic of its presence. (Emphasis added.)
Although the trial court made no specific findings regarding the length of time Mr. Lara's truck was stopped before the accident, we observe that this law is designed to protect motorists in Ms. Knotts' position. The legislature has recognized the extraordinary danger posed to motorists on a dark highway by a stalled and unlit vehicle in the right-of-way. Accordingly, the legislature has specifically imposed upon a stalled motorist the duty of protecting traffic. Since Ms. Knotts' headlights were operating, Mr. Lara was in a position where he could see Ms. Knotts approaching and possibly warn her of the presence of his stalled truck. Even if Mr. Lara had no time to do so, the fault for this accident cannot be shifted to the driver who had little or no opportunity to see the obstacle in the right-of-way. As to Ms. Knotts, this is simply an inevitable accident for which no fault attaches.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the trial court rejecting the claims of Plaintiffs, John and Victorino Lara, is affirmed. Costs are assessed to Plaintiffs, John and Victorino Lara.
AFFIRMED.
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