Farwell v. Keaton

Facts

Friends Siegrist(Defendant) and Farwell went to drop off Siegrist’s rental car. While waiting on their ride home, the defendant and Farwell went to a bar and had a few drinks. They then became slightly intoxicated and started flirting with two women. The defendant and Farwell followed these women, and the women told their six male friends, who then jumped the defendant and Farwell. The defendant escaped, but Farwell was severely beaten. Later the defendant goes back to the scene of the incident to find Farwell under his vehicle in poor condition. The defendant then gets an ice pack to place on Farwell’s head. The defendant drives him around for two hours before dropping him at his grandparents’ home. The defendant tried to wake Farwell up when he dropped him off but failed to bring him to consciousness and just left him in their driveway. Three days later, Farwell died of an epidural hematoma. During the trial, a doctor testified that had Farwell been brought to the hospital within an hour of his injury, he would have had an over eighty percent chance of survival. Farwell’s father(plaintiff) sues the defendant, alleging that he is the proximate cause of Farwell’s death and should be liable for negligence.