In Albinowski v. Hoffman , Armanda Albinowski's parked car careened across two lanes of traffic and collided into Andrew Hoffman's vehicle.
Hoffman was driving within the speed limit, in his own lane, and braked as Albinowski's car approached, but she still got injured in the crash and reportedly suffered from amnesia -- leaving her with no recollection of any of the events leading up to the accident.
After Albinowski filed suit, the Suffolk County Supreme Court granted Hoffman's request to dismiss the case. That court found Albinowski had violated traffic laws when she didn't yield the right-of-way, and Hoffman had acted reasonably under the circumstances.
Since drivers don't usually encounter parked vehicles suddenly entering a traffic lane, the Appellate Division, Second Department, was of the view Hoffman's response was appropriate and he was neither liable nor responsible for what had transpired.
And, even though the poor woman suffered from amnesia, she still had the burden of proving her entitlement to relief and had been unable to come forward with a legal basis for her case's survival.
There's no forgetting that.
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Albinowski v. Hoffman