When a person seeks to recover damages for personal injuries sustained in an accident with another individual, it is plain that in order to recover those damages, the claimant must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the other individual negligently performed some act or negligently failed to perform some act that caused the claimant’s injuries. For example, it is not sufficient for a claimant to simply allege that he was hurt on another person’s property; rather, he must prove that he was hurt on another’s property and that the other person was negligent, which negligence caused the injury. Negligence is defined as the failure to use that degree of caution, precaution, and vigilance that a reasonably prudent person would use under the same or similar circumstances.
A defense to a negligence action that sometimes arises is the “Act of God” defense. In New Jersey, an “Act of God” is defined as an unusual, extraordinary and unexpected manifestation of the forces of nature, or a misfortune or accident arising from inevitable necessity that cannot be prevented by reasonable human foresight and care. If a claimant’s injuries were caused by such an event without any negligence on the part of the defendant, the defendant is not liable for the claimant’s injuries.
An example of the Act of God defense would be a situation where a claimant is injured in an automobile accident with another driver and the evidence demonstrates that the defendant lost control of his automobile due to a seizure. In this example, any injury sustained by the claimant in the accident would not be attributable to the defendant’s negligence, but rather to an Act of God that was unexpected and could not have been prevented by the defendant. However, in this example, the Act of God defense would not prevail if, for example, the defendant knew or should have known that he was subject to having seizures. If the defendant has a history of seizures, or was advised by a doctor not to operate a motor vehicle due to the possibility of a seizure while driving, and the defendant nevertheless operates an automobile that is involved in an accident that injures another person, then the Act of God defense would not be applicable even if the cause of the accident was a seizure. This is so because New Jersey law provides that if a defendant has been guilty of negligence and that negligence combines with the forces of nature in causing an accident, the defendant is not excused from responsibility. “He whose negligence joins with an “act of God” in producing injury is liable therefor.” Cora v. Trowbridge Outdoor Adv. Corp., 18 N.J. Super. 1, 4 (App. Div. 1952).
The Act of God defense is rarely applicable in the typical personal injury case. However, Ginarte, Gonzalez & Winograd, LLP will fight for the rights of its clients by investigating all aspects of their cases in attempting to demonstrate to insurance companies and juries that defenses such as the Act of God defense do not apply to the facts of their cases.