Beneshunas v. Independence Life & Accident Insurance

512 A.2d 6, 354 Pa. Super. 391, 1986 Pa. Super. LEXIS 11011
CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 13, 1986
Docket1934
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 512 A.2d 6 (Beneshunas v. Independence Life & Accident Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Beneshunas v. Independence Life & Accident Insurance, 512 A.2d 6, 354 Pa. Super. 391, 1986 Pa. Super. LEXIS 11011 (Pa. 1986).

Opinions

WIEAND, Judge:

Elizabeth McGurl Beneshunas was the beneficiary of a policy of insurance issued by Independence Life and Accident Insurance Company to provide indemnity in the event of the accidental death of the beneficiary’s son, Harry McGurl. The insured was killed when the tractor trailer unit which he was operating collided with a concrete bridge abutment. The insurance company denied liability pursuant to a policy exclusion applicable to death caused in whole or in part by the insured’s intoxication. Beneshunas sued and, following trial without jury, recovered a verdict for $15,-000.00. The insurer’s motion for post-trial relief was denied, and judgment was entered on the verdict.

On appeal, the insurer contends (1) that the trial court’s findings were not supported by the evidence, and (2) that the trial court committed an abuse of discretion when it denied the insurer’s request to reopen its case for the purpose of hearing the testimony of the insured’s widow.

The written policy provided as follows:

[394]*394“The company shall not be liable for any loss to which a contributing cause was the insured’s being intoxicated or under the influence of any narcotic unless administered on the advice of a physician.”

At trial, the beneficiary established that her son, the insured, had died as a result of accident. The burden was then upon the insurer to show by a fair preponderance of the evidence that a contributing cause of the accident had been the insured’s intoxication. The trial court determined that the appellant-insurer had failed to meet this burden.

“In reviewing the findings of the trial judge, the test is not whether the appellate court would have reached the same result on the evidence presented, but [whether], after due consideration of the evidence, a judge could reasonably have reached the conclusion of the trial judge.” Delahanty v. First National Bank, N.A., 318 Pa.Super. 90, 113-114, 464 A.2d 1243, 1255 (1982). See: School District of City of Harrisburg v. Pa. Interscholastic Athletic Assn., 453 Pa. 495, 499, 309 A.2d 353, 356 (1973). The evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party prevailing at trial. Delahanty v. First National Bank, N.A., supra, 318 Pa.Super. at 114, 464 A.2d at 1255; Krobot v. Ganzak, 194 Pa.Super. 49, 52, 166 A.2d 311, 312 (1960). In examining the evidence of record and the trial judge’s conclusions based on the evidence he found credible, we are cognizant of the rule that it is not the province of an appellate court to find facts nor substitute its judgment for that of the trial judge. Delahanty v. First National Bank, N.A., supra; Stowe v. Booker, 284 Pa.Super. 53, 57, 424 A.2d 1388, 1390 (1981). Therefore, we accept the trial judge’s findings with respect to the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be accorded their testimony. Delahanty v. First National Bank, N.A., supra; In Interest of Black, 273 Pa.Super. 536, 543, 417 A.2d 1178, 1182 (1980); Commonwealth ex rel. Pruss v. Pruss, 236 Pa.Super. 247, 249, 344 A.2d 509, 510 (1975).

Trooper Eugene Baidas, a twenty-five year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police, testified that on the afternoon of [395]*395May 8, 1979, he had overtaken and followed McGurl’s tractor trailer while it was traveling north on 1-81. He testified that McGurl, although within the speed limit, appeared to be driving erratically. When Trooper Baidas attempted to pass McGurl, the tractor trailer drifted from the driving lane into the passing lane, nearly forcing the police vehicle off the road. After completing the pass, Trooper Baidas observed in his rear view mirror that McGurl had pulled his rig off the road and had stopped near an exit ramp. The trooper turned his vehicle around and approached the truck to determine the condition of the driver. After Baidas had exited his vehicle, he asked McGurl, who had alighted from the cab of the truck, for his driver’s license. McGurl, the trooper testified, climbed the ladder to the cab, retrieved his license, and descended to the road, all without assistance. Upon being questioned, McGurl assured Trooper Baidas that he had not been drinking, was not taking medication and was not tired. During the period of five minutes in which McGurl was in the trooper’s presence, Baidas did not detect an odor of alcohol on McGurl’s breath. Baidas testified that although he believed “there was something wrong,” he did not then conclude that McGurl was intoxicated. Baidas testified that he had told McGurl to remain where he was and used his radio to request another patrol car to check on McGurl. He then drove away. A few minutes later, he said, he learned via radio that McGurl’s tractor trailer had struck the bridge abutment.

Dr. Richard Bindie, a pathologist at Pottsville Hospital, conducted an autopsy. He extracted both blood and urine from McGurl’s body and submitted samples thereof for chemical testing. These tests disclosed that McGurl’s blood contained an alcoholic content of .33 percent, and his urine contained alcohol of .30 percent. He concluded that McGurl had been drinking before the accident. He also said that McGurl had had a history of epilepsy and conceded that an epileptic seizure while McGurl had been driving the truck was a possibility.

[396]*396Mrs. Beneshunas, to rebut the charge that her son had been intoxicated, testified that he had stopped at her home four or five hours before the accident. At that time, she said, he consumed no alcoholic beverages; and when she kissed him goodbye, she did not detect the odor of alcohol on his breath. She testified further that her son was an epileptic and had occasionally suffered seizures. One of these seizures, she said, had occurred in her home a week or two before the accident.

In civil cases in which the intoxication of a driver is an issue, the results of blood tests are admissible. See: Ackerman v. Delcomico, 336 Pa.Super. 569, 575, 486 A.2d 410, 414 (1984). Indeed, where a blood alcohol content of more than .10 percent is shown, a jury may infer intoxication. See: Couts v. Ghion, 281 Pa.Super. 135, 144, 421 A.2d 1184, 1189 (1980); Cusatis v. Reichert, 267 Pa.Super. 247, 251-252, 406 A.2d 787, 789-790 (1979); Schwarzbach v. Dunn, 252 Pa.Super. 454, 462, 381 A.2d 1295, 1298 (1977). See also: 75 Pa.C.S. § 1547(d)(3). Such evidence, however, is not conclusive. An inference of intoxication may always be rebutted by evidence tending to show that the driver was not under the influence of alcohol. Cf. Commonwealth v. DiFrancesco, 458 Pa. 188, 193-194 & n. 3, 329 A.2d 204, 207-208 & n.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In the Interest of: J.A.B. & J.M.R.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
A.S.M. v. E.M.S.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017
Commonwealth v. Granese
14 Pa. D. & C.5th 238 (Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, 2010)
Stetler v. CDL Medical Technologies Inc.
63 Pa. D. & C.4th 270 (Berks County Court of Common Pleas, 2003)
Beaumont v. ETL Services, Inc.
761 A.2d 166 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2000)
Alberici v. Safeguard Mutual Insurance
664 A.2d 110 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1995)
Al Hamilton Contracting Co. v. Department of Environmental Resources
659 A.2d 31 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1995)
In re M.K.
636 A.2d 198 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1994)
Commonwealth v. Robison
561 A.2d 82 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1989)
Noble C. Quandel Co. v. Slough Flooring, Inc.
558 A.2d 99 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1989)
Crosby v. Com., Dept. of Transp.
548 A.2d 281 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1988)
Blumberg v. Watkins Motor Truck Inc.
1 Pa. D. & C.4th 664 (Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, 1987)
Ware v. McKnight
534 A.2d 771 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1987)
Gallagher v. Ing
532 A.2d 1179 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1987)
Beneshunas v. Independence Life & Accident Insurance
512 A.2d 6 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
512 A.2d 6, 354 Pa. Super. 391, 1986 Pa. Super. LEXIS 11011, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/beneshunas-v-independence-life-accident-insurance-pa-1986.