Case Name: E. MILTON THOMPSON, JR. vs. DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS
Court: West Virginia Court of Claims
Jurisdiction: West Virginia
Decision Date: 1984-08-06
Citations: 15 Ct. Cl. 161
Docket Number: CC-83-351
Parties: E. MILTON THOMPSON, JR. vs. DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS
Judges: 
Reporter: Report of the West Virginia Court of Claims
Volume: 15
Pages: 161–162

Head Matter:
Opinion issued August 6, 1984
E. MILTON THOMPSON, JR. vs. DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS
(CC-83-351)
Claimant appeared in person.
Nancy J. Aliff, Attorney at Law, for respondent.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM:
This claim was originally filed in the names of E. Milton Thompson, Jr. and Lois Ann Thompson, but when the testimony established that the vehicle, a 1979 Ford Fiesta, was titled in the name of E. Milton Thompson, Jr. alone, the Court amended the style of the claim to reflect that fact.
On November 17, 1983, claimant's wife, Lois Ann Thompson, was driving on 1-64 near Winfield, West Virginia, at about 9:45 p.m., when she struck a piece of cement in the road. The cement damaged the right front and back tires, alignment, and a strut, in the amount of $234.35. Mrs. Thompson testified that she did not see the cement before striking it. The cement appeared to have broken out of the road, and measured about 9 inches in diameter. Mrs. Thompson had no knowledge of how long the piece of pavement had been in the road.
The State is neither an insurer nor a guarantor of the safety of motorists on its highways. Adkins vs. Sims, 130 W. Va. 645, 46 S.E.2d 81 (1947). In order for the respondent to be held liable, proof of actual or constructive notice of the defect is required. As there was no evidence of notice in this claim, it must be denied.
Claim disallowed.