Accident caused by sneezing

In June last year I was riding my Duke on a dual carriageway in the outside lane when a car to my left veered right into my lane and knocked me off. I was off work and recovering for 6 months. He has blamed his swerve on a sneezing fit and his insurer is telling my solicitor that they deny liability for the accident. They say their driver was not negligent as the sneezing fit caused the loss of control and it was not his fault. But surely this is just an excuse?

Mark, by e-mail

Answer

The insurers are relying on a legal defence called automatism. This is when a person cannot be held responsible for their actions if they had no knowledge or control of them. For example committing a crime whilst sleep walking or having an epileptic fit out of the blue whilst driving. An automatism defence can succeed where a person experiences a total loss of control through no fault of their own.

The driver who collided with you will have to satisfy a court that he suffered a sneezing fit and that the sneezing fit caused him to swerve. And importantly that it was out of the blue and he did not drive knowing he was experiencing a period of sneezing fits. For example, did he suffer from bad hay fever yet he drove nonetheless? If not resolved, a court will have to decide whether the defence is made out or if he was responsible.