California Jury Instruction CACI 3927 Aggravation of Preexisting Condition or Disability

New September 2003

Nakase Wade | California Business Lawyers & Corporate Lawyers

•“[A] tortfeasor may be held liable in an action for damages where the effect of his negligence is to aggravate a preexisting condition or disease. Plaintiff may recover to the full extent that his condition has worsened as a result of defendant’s tortious act.” (Sanchez v. Kern Emergency Medical Transportation Corp. (2017) 8 Cal.App.5th 146, 168 [213 Cal.Rptr.3d 830].)

•“It is by no means self-evident that an act which precipitates a flare-up of a preexisting condition should be considered a ‘cause which, in natural and continuous sequence, produces the injury.’ Thus, general instructions on proximate cause were not sufficient to inform the jury on the more specific issue of aggravation of preexisting conditions.” (Ng v. Hudson (1977) 75 Cal.App.3d 250, 256 [142 Cal.Rptr. 69], internal citations omitted, overruled on another ground in Soule v. General Motors Corp. (1994) 8 Cal.4th 548, 574 [34 Cal.Rptr.2d 607, 882 P.2d 298].)

•“[An instruction on preexisting condition] is proper only where the injured is the claimant seeking compensation for his injuries. That is not the case here in a wrongful death action.” (Vecchione v. Carlin (1980) 111 Cal.App.3d 351, 358 [168 Cal.Rptr. 571].)