Strait v. Crary

496 N.W.2d 634 (1993)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P was sixteen years old. P and several other teenagers went riding in D's pickup truck. D purchased beer and other intoxicants for the young people, and they soon became quite intoxicated. D did not drink and remained sober. D continued to drive the group through the countryside as the teenagers continued their drinking. P, who was sitting in the front seat attempted to climb out of the passenger window and join the others in the box of the truck. He fell, and the truck ran over his leg, breaking it. D stopped the truck, picked up P, and drive him to the hospital. This caused P additional pain and discomfort. P sued D for negligence. P requested an instruction for the separate standard of care for children. The court refused. The court had determined that P, although a minor, should be held to the standard of care applicable to adults. The court stated, '... when you try to tell me that a 21-year-old driver has got to take extra precautions when there is a 16-year-old passenger crawling out the window to get [into] the back end of the truck, that is preposterous . . . .' The jury found both P and D causally negligent and apportioned the negligence sixty-one percent to P, and thirty-nine percent to D. P appealed the dismissal of the action.