Chapman v. Milford Towing & Service, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
2012 WL 3871868 (2012)
John Chapman (plaintiff) called for a mechanic after his semi broke down, but dispatch instead sent a tow truck driven by Johnny Whitaker of Milford Towing & Service (defendants). The parties disputed whether Chapman told Whitaker not to touch the truck without approval; Whitaker said he told Chapman to stay clear while hooking up the truck, saw him move to the passenger side, but then lost track of him and did not check before towing. Chapman climbed back into the cab to retrieve belongings and fell when Whitaker began towing, suffering serious injuries. At trial, the judge declined to give Ohio's specific independent-superseding-cause instruction and instead gave a general proximate-cause instruction; the jury found the parties 75/25 comparatively negligent and awarded Chapman a reduced $1.5 million, and the defendants appealed the instruction ruling.
Whether, to supersede an initial negligent act as the proximate cause of an injury, an intervening act or cause must be new and independent rather than a foreseeable risk of the initial negligent act.