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Bish v. Guaranty Nat'l Ins.3/18/1993
Per Curiam:
This is an appeal from an order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of respondent insurance company in a personal injury case.
Appellant Mary Ann Bish, as guardian ad litem for her four year old daughter, Christina Rose Carlos, filed a complaint against respondent Guaranty National Insurance Company for declaratory relief in an action involving alleged negligence by Martha Alderson, Guaranty's insured. Appellant alleged that on June 4, 1988, Alderson twice ran over Christina on the sidewalk adjacent to Alderson's driveway, first by backing over her, then, after hearing a neighbor scream and realizing what she had done, by putting the car in forward gear and driving over the child again. As a consequence, Christina suffered serious injuries.
Both parties filed motions for summary judgment. At issue was whether the underlying circumstances constituted one accident or two for the purposes of collecting under the insurance policy issued by respondent. The district court concluded that, under the facts of this case, there was only one accident, and granted summary judgment in favor of respondent. This appeal followed.
Summary judgment is appropriate only if there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. American Federal Savings v. Washoe County, 106 Nev. 869, 871, 802 P.2d 1270, 1272 (1990). The parties do not dispute the material facts; thus, the present dispute raises solely a question of law. See Nationwide Mut. Ins. v. Moya, 108 Nev. 578, 837 P.2d 426 (1992).
Appellant contends that she is entitled to collect for two separate accidents because the child's injuries were caused by two separate and distinct impacts that occurred within a few seconds of one another. She argues that Alderson was in control of the vehicle both times she ran over the child and the incidents were interrupted by Alderson's actions of making eye contact with a witness and changing gears. She alleges that these actions broke the chain of causation.
Respondent contends that because there was but a single cause of the incident, namely Alderson's negligent driving, the incident constituted a single accident. Respondent asserts that a single
[109 Nev. 133, Page 135]
victim was injured in a continuous manner in a short period of time by a single car driven by a single tortfeasor.
This case presents an issue of first impression in Nevada. For the reasons set forth below, we adopt the majority “causal approach” and uphold the decision of the district court.
Jurisdictions which have considered this issue are divided on how to determine whether a particular situation constitutes a single occurrence or multiple occurrences for the purposes of insurance liability. The vast majority of jurisdictions, however, have adopted a “causal” approach. Using this analysis, the inquiry is focused on whether there was one or more than one cause which resulted in all of the injuries or damages. See, e.g., Olsen v. Moore, 202 N.W.2d 236 (Wis. 1972); see also Michael P. Sullivan, Annotation, What Constitutes Single Accident or Occurrence Within Liability Policy Limiting Insurer's Liability to a Specified Amount Per Accident or Occurrence, 64 A.L.R. 4th 668 (1988). We believe that the reasoning of the “causal” approach is sound, and therefore adopt it as the analytical framework for deciding whether, in cases such as the instant one, the circumstance constitute one accident or multiple accidents for the purposes of insurance liability.
Looking to jurisdictions which have adopted the “causal” approach, the case of Welter v. Sin
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