California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Goodwin v. Braden, 134 Cal.App.2d 34, 285 P.2d 330 (Cal. App. 1955):
Appellants next contend that there was prejudicial error by the court in refusing to give the jury an instruction on unavoidable accident. Appellants tendered two proposed instructions on unavoidable accident. In defining the term 'unavoidable accident' this court said in Tesone v. Reiman, 117 Cal.App.2d 211, at page 216, 255 P.2d 48, at page 51:
'* * * By this term is not meant an accident that could not be avoided at all. The term simply means an accident which is caused by something other than the actionable negligence of the parties involved. Parker v. Womack, 37 Cal.2d 116, 120, 230 P.2d 823. The so-called defense of inevitable or unavoidable accident amounts to nothing more than a denial by the defendant of actionable negligence.'
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