Wang
Wang v. Heck
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Willhite, J.
Appellants Gang Wang and Xiaofen Wang were critically injured when they were struck by a car being driven by Amr Sarieh, who suffered an epileptic seizure and lost consciousness. Appellants filed a complaint against Sarieh’s neurologist, Christianne N. Heck, M.D. (Heck), and Heck’s employer, the University of Southern California (USC) (collectively, respondents). 1 The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of respondents on the basis that Heck’s communication to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) that Sarieh’s epilepsy did not affect his ability to drive safely was privileged pursuant to Civil Code section 47, subdivision (b). 2 We affirm.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Sarieh was bom in 1971 and has had seizures since the age of 13. The seizures occurred every one or two weeks and caused Sarieh to black out for about three minutes. In 2001, a neurologist at USC examined Sarieh and noted that he was experiencing about one seizure per week or month.
Sarieh’s driver’s license was suspended for three years in 2001 or 2002 when he suffered a seizure and hit a lamppost. His license was suspended again when he had another seizure-related accident in 2007, but…