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Ramey v. Knorr10/17/2005
at trial further showed that beginning in March 2001, Knorr's delusional thoughts about her brother being a murderer came back. Knorr and her family testified that by November 2001, her thoughts escalated and Mr. Knorr tried to get her to agree to go to the hospital. Knorr wanted to wait until after the holidays to go to the hospital and had an appointment scheduled for two days after the accident.
The day before the accident Knorr believed intruders were coming to her house and were going to kidnap her and her husband and rape them. The morning of the accident a friend offered to take Knorr to the hospital, but she refused to go. At trial, Dr. Young testified that people with delusional beliefs almost never believe something is wrong with them. He further testified that on the day of the accident, Knorr's delusional beliefs caused her to panic, and 'it's at that point that erratic or dangerous behavior can occur.' Dr. Young testified that Knorr's delusional beliefs that caused her to panic were 'relatively sudden.'
The trial court concluded that under Breunig and Johnson, Knorr had forewarning because she knew she had been treated for a mental condition in 1994 and chose not to continue with the medication, and therefore did not fall within the sudden mental incapacity exception. We agree. We note further that the episodes continued and existed in this case as recently as the day preceding the auto collision. The record shows that Knorr was forewarned of the condition that again arose on the day of the accident. Knorr heavily relies on the expert testimony of Dr. Young, which she describes as 'unrebutted.' However, the question before the court at the time of the motions was whether there was a legally sufficient evidentiary basis to allow the defense. The court was neither required to only consider the evidence of the expert nor to believe that evidence.
More importantly, when one views the testimony by Dr. Young and the other witnesses in the light most favorable to Knorr, there is substantial evidence to conclude that Knorr had knowledge and forewarning of her mental disorder. Knorr was treated for delusional beliefs in 1994, decided to stop that treatment, including taking her medication, began experiencing delusions again almost a year prior to the accident, and had ample opportunity to go to the hospital and seek help. Knorr also agreed to go to the hospital, which further supports her knowledge of her mental disorder. Therefore, the trial court properly granted a directed verdict in favor of Ramey.
Although Knorr had no history of being dangerous or violent, or any problems with her driving, that is not required under Breunig. Knorr experienced delusional beliefs for several months prior to the accident and believed the night before the accident that intruders were going to come into her family's home and rape and kill them. Under an objective standard, a reasonable person would have foreseen that Knorr's mental condition could affect her driving. Therefore, Knorr's mental incapacity while driving was foreseeable.
Incapable of Conforming to Standards of Ordinary Care
Addressing the other prong of sudden mental incapacity, the Breunig court stated:
{the} disorder must be such as to affect the person's ability to understand and appreciate the duty which rests upon him to drive his car with ordinary care, or if the insanity does not affect such understanding and appreciation, it must affect his ability to control his car in an ordinarily prudent manner.
The court in Jankee later clarified the rule from Breunig and stated 'the disability {must} render{} the person incapable of conforming to the standards of
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