Breunig v. American Family Insurance Co.
Supreme Court of Wisconsin
45 Wis. 2d 536 (1970)
Erma Veith, insured by American Family Insurance (defendant), veered across the center line and hit Phillip Breunig (plaintiff) after suffering a delusion in which she believed a white light meant God was directing her car and that she could fly like Batman. Veith had a documented history of hallucinatory visions predating the accident. American Family refused to pay Breunig's claim, arguing Veith's insanity excused her from negligence liability; the jury found for Breunig, awarding damages later reduced to $7,000, and American Family appealed.
Whether insanity can serve as a defense to negligence liability when a driver is suddenly overcome, without forewarning, by a mental disability that makes her incapable of conforming to a reasonable person's standard of care.