Can I Lose My Claim Due to a Sneeze?

In June, I was riding home when a car driving alongside me suddenly pulled across me, causing me to come off my bike. I had some injuries but I am a lot better now.

The car driver’s insurer says he lost control because of a sneezing fit. They do not accept their insured was to blame for the accident, arguing that he was not negligent because the sneezing fit caused him to lose control. Surely this cannot be right?

Jason, by e-mail

Answer

The insurer is relying on a legal defence known as automatism.

An automatism defence can succeed where a driver suffers an unforeseeable loss of control through no fault of their own. The car driver will need to satisfy a court that he genuinely suffered a sneezing fit, that it caused him to veer into your path and that the episode was completely unexpected.

For example, if he suffered from severe hay fever or had a known medical condition that caused frequent sneezing, it may be argued that he should have been aware of the risk and taken appropriate precautions.

You should seek disclosure of his medical history to see if there were previous episodes or other information that could undermine his claim that the sneezing fit was entirely unexpected.

On the facts you describe, the driver cannot simply avoid responsibility by saying that he sneezed. He would need to prove that the episode caused a unforeseeable loss of control and that there was nothing he could reasonably have done to prevent it.