Case Name: DAVID L. BUSH vs. DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS
Court: West Virginia Court of Claims
Jurisdiction: West Virginia
Decision Date: 1980-02-14
Citations: 13 Ct. Cl. 122
Docket Number: CC-79-118
Parties: DAVID L. BUSH vs. DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS
Judges: 
Reporter: Report of the West Virginia Court of Claims
Volume: 13
Pages: 122–123

Head Matter:
Opinion issued February 14, 1980
DAVID L. BUSH vs. DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS
(CC-79-118)
Nancy J. Aliff, Attorney at Law, for respondent.

Opinion:
WALLACE, JUDGE:
Át approximately 10:30 p.m. on February 27, 1979, claimant's wife, Mona Bush, was operating his 1978 Ford Fiesta in the eastbound right-hand lane of Route 60 in Kanawha County, West Virginia. At the intersection of Kanawha Terrace and Route 60, near the Rainbow Lounge, the car struck a pothole, damaging the vehicle in the amount of $195.91.
According to the testimony of the claimant, Mrs. Bush was traveling at about 40 mph, and the hole was eight inches deep. Mrs. Bush testified that she did not see the hole, and that she was driving "in the direct line of traffic travel."
It is well established in the law of West Virginia that the State cannot and does not guarantee the safety of motorists upon its highways. Adkins v. Sims, 130 W.Va. 645, 46 S.E.2d 81 (1947). To be held liable, the respondent must have had either actual or constructive notice of the hazardous condition of the highway. Since no such evidence of notice was brought forth in the case, the respondent cannot be found negligent. Therefore, this Court hereby disallows the claim.
Claim disallowed.