MINNESOTA COUNTY AT FAULT FOR FAILURE TO REMOVE SNOW FROM BRIDGE GUARDRAIL

A jury found the state to be innocent, the county to be 55 percent negligent and an accident victim to be 45 percent negligent and awarded him $40,000 in damages in a suit brought against Hennepin County and the state of Minnesota. The plaintiff brought suit against both the state and the county for negligence in failing to remove snow which had accumulated along the length of a bridge creating a snow bank. While attempting to change lanes while driving his pick-up truck, the plaintiff encountered a patch of ice and lost control of his truck. The truck ran into the snow bank next to the bridge, slid up over it and the guardrail, and landed in a lane of the highway. After hearing testimony from a county employee who operates snow plows and the superintendent of maintenance, a Minnesota Court of Appeals determined that although the county was protected from liability with regard to its policies on snow plowing, it was not protected with regard to the removal of accumulated snow. Thus, the county lost its appeal. Gorecki v. County of Hennepin C1-89-391 (443 N.W.2d 236 Minn.App. 1989)

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/0884612X
• Corporate Authors:

  TranSafety, Incorporated

  5811 Oak Leather Drive
  Burke, VA  United States  22015
• Publication Date: 1990-11

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 1-2
• Serial:
  • TRANSAFETY REPORTER
  • Volume: 8
  • Issue Number: 11
  • Publisher: TranSafety, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0884-612X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridges; Guardrails; Liability; Loss and damage; Safety; Snow removal
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Law; Maintenance and Preservation; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I73: Traffic Control; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00602506
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 31 1990 12:00AM