Facts
Parties involved: Y. (the driver), A., B. and C. (the civil parties, wife and daughters of D., the victim), Attorney General of the canton of Geneva.
Facts: On January 30, 2001, Y. struck D., a pedestrian, with his van. D. suffered serious injuries and died on February 14, 2001. The Attorney General convicted Y. of negligent bodily harm but acquitted him of negligent homicide, finding that the adequate causal link between the accident and D.'s death was lacking. The civil parties objected, leading to several cantonal and federal proceedings and decisions.
Legal issue: The existence of an adequate causal link between the traffic accident and D.'s death, considering the victim's pre-existing health condition.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the issue of adequate causation in the context of negligent homicide. It recalled that adequate causation exists when the author's conduct is, according to the ordinary course of events, likely to result in an outcome of the kind that occurred. Adequate causation depends on objective predictability and is not broken by concurrent causes, unless they are entirely exceptional or extraordinary.
The Court emphasized that the victim's deficient health or predispositions do not break the causal link. The author will be held guilty of negligent homicide if his fault played a causal role, even partially, in the…