Munn v. Southern Health Plan, Inc.
United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
719 F. Supp. 525 (1989), aff'd 924 F.2d 568 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 900 (1991)
- Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD
Facts
Trudy Algee (defendant) admitted she was negligent in trying to pass another vehicle while driving in dense fog. Elaine Munn died two hours after the resulting collision. Elaine and her husband, Ray Munn (plaintiff) both adhered to the Jehovah’s Witness faith and refused a blood transfusion for Elaine on religious grounds. Algee contended that a blood transfusion would have saved Elaine’s life and moved for summary judgment, asserting that the doctrines of avoidable consequences, contributory negligence, and assumption of risk barred recovery. Ray asserted that the eggshell- or thin-skull rule and rights to freedom of religion applied to keep the avoidable-consequences doctrine from applying.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Senter Jr., C.J.)
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