Is a defendant's sole defense in a civil case entitled to argue that the death of her son was a result of improper correction and discipline?

In the present case, defendant's sole defense was her contention that death had resulted, accidentally, as a result of legitimate correction and discipline of her son. A jury cannot, without proper instruction, be expected to remember that the 'lawful correction of a child' may involve an act which, in fact, is serious enough to cause death. It is now the settled law of this state that a defendant is entitled to instructions on his theory of the case, as disclosed by the record, no matter how weak such evidence may be. (People v. Modesto (1963) 59 Cal.2d 722, 31 Cal.Rptr. 225, 382 P.2d 33.) Furthermore, it is the duty of the

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