Now you will apply that knowledge to each question. Evaluate and determine whether each of the following situations represents a court’s application of (1) a statute or administrative regulation, (2) application of stare decisis, or (3) creation of common law. You must also explain your answers for full credit.
20 points
1. A young woman under treatment for a chronic medical condition is prescribed a new medication. No tests have ever shown the drug to produce any side effects of impairment. As a result there are no restrictions with the use of the medication. On the first day she has taken the drug she is driving home from work when she suddenly and without warning loses consciousness and causes a massive accident. She is sued by several individuals involved in the accident claiming she was driving under the influence and thereby caused the accident. As it turns out, her loss of consciousness was caused by the effects of the drug on a previously undiscovered brain lesion. In a normal individual, the drug would not have affected consciousness in the way it did in this young woman. Even though the patient’s conduct did not meet the intentional element of the statues regarding driving under the influence statute, the court finds that anyone taking a medication for has a responsibility to monitor the effects of the medication for a reasonable period before operating any motorized equipment.