| Volume Number: 30
Category(s): STREETS AND HIGHWAYS |
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| Opinion Issued January 22, 2015 | |
| ARNOLD COLLINS AND M. VIRGINIA COLLINS | |
| VS. | |
| DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS | |
| (CC-14-0869) | |
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Claimants appeared pro se. C. Brian Matko, Attorney at Law, for Respondent |
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| PER CURIAM:
Claimants brought this action for vehicle damage, which occurred when their 2012 Kia suffered damages on Victory Point Road in London, Logan County. Victory Point Road is a public road maintained by Respondent. The Court is of the opinion to make an award in this claim for the reasons more fully stated below. The incident giving rise to this claim occurred at approximately 2:00 p.m. on April 24, 2014, when Claimant M. Virginia Collins was driving Claimants’ vehicle in an area of roadway construction where a manhole was sticking up above the road level. Claimants’ vehicle undercarriage struck the manhole causing damage to the transmission. The truck being operated in front of her went through the construction area without incident since its undercarriage was above the manhole. She proceeded to drive to her destination at a post office in Chapmanville. After she parked she noticed that transmission fluid was all over the ground under her vehicle. The vehicle would no longer operate at that time. She did not observe any construction signs informing drivers that they should slow down for the road construction conditions. Claimants’ Kia suffered damages to its transmission as a result of this incident in the amount of $3,023.31. Since Claimants’ insurance declaration sheet indicates that their collision deductible is $500.00, Claimants’ recovery is limited to that amount. It is the Claimants’ position that Respondent knew, or should have known, about this condition in the construction area on Victoria Point Road, which created a hazardous condition to the traveling public. Claimants’ further assert that Respondent was negligent in failing to provide proper warning to the traveling public of a known hazardous condition prior to the incident. The position of the Respondent is that Victory Point Road is a secondary road in Logan County but Respondent did not have actual or constructive notice of the condition at the time of this incident since the work on the road was being done by the Public Service District through a private construction contractor. According to Michael Gillum, Respondent’s Highway Administrator for Logan County, Respondent was aware of the ongoing construction for the installation of a water line underneath the roadway, but he was not aware of the condition of the manhole as described by Claimant M. Virginia Collins. Mr. Gillum did not go to the scene of the incident herein to view the conditions of Victory Point Road. He testified that he was aware that there was a manhole in the area as described by Claimant M. Virginia Collins. He also stated that the Respondent’s Huntington District Office would actually handle the oversight of construction by contractors in Logan County. He also advised the Court that, as far as he knows, construction contracts with Public Service Districts have a “hold harmless” provision if work is being performed on a State roadway. The well-established principle of law in West Virginia is that the State is neither an insurer nor a guarantor of the safety of travelers upon its roads. Adkins v. Sims, 130 W.Va. 645; 46 S.E.2d 81 (1947). In order to hold Respondent liable for road defects of this type, Claimants must prove that Respondent had actual or constructive notice of the defect and a reasonable amount of time to take corrective action. Pritt v. Dep’t of Highways, 16 Ct. Cl. 8 (1985); Chapman v. Dep’t of Highways, 16 Ct. Cl. 103 (1986). In the instant case, the Court is of the opinion that Respondent had, at the least, constructive notice of the condition in the construction area on Victoria Point Road. Since the manhole created a hazard to the traveling public, the Court finds Respondent negligent. In view of the foregoing, it is the opinion of the Court of Claims that the Claimants should be awarded the sum of $500.00. Award of $500.00. |
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| Summary: |
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