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VOLUME 10 August 2005 | ||||||
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DEFENSE VERDICT IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION CASE By Jennifer Keadle Mason, Esq. During the first week of July, Jennifer Keadle Mason, the managing attorney in our Pittsburgh office, tried a case in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania before Judge Ackerman. This road construction case under the Pennsylvania Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act was assigned to this firm only three weeks prior to trial. The Plaintiff, an attractive and active 18 year old girl, was traveling on a roadway in Murrysville, Pennsylvania when she encountered ice, lost control, and struck a telephone pole. When she struck the pole, one of her legs went through the floorboard of the car in which she was traveling. She had to be extricated from the vehicle. Plaintiff alleged that the ice on the roadway was due to a defective design which permitted water to pool in an area of the roadway. She alleged that, although it had just begun snowing, she had experienced no other problems with inclement weather until she struck the ice. She claimed that, as a result of her accident, she was injured and was caused to undergo nine surgeries on her legs and ankles. Her medical bills were approximately $300,000. Her demand prior to trial was the policy limit of $500,000. She refused offers of $50,000 and a high/low of $25,000/$150,000. After one and one half hours, the jury returned a verdict for the Defendant, the Municipality of Murrysville. They found that there was no defect in the road, no notice to the Municipality, and no causation. Plaintiff filed post-trial motions but withdrew them within a few days. |
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