Case Name: Karen MYERS, Individually and as Administratrix of the Estate of Her Minor Son, Samuel Todd Rodgers v. STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY and Les Reynolds
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1985-12-26
Citations: 483 So. 2d 1063
Docket Number: No. 84-CA-1171
Parties: Karen MYERS, Individually and as Administratrix of the Estate of Her Minor Son, Samuel Todd Rodgers v. STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY and Les Reynolds.
Judges: Before EDWARDS, LANIER and JOHN S. COVINGTON, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 483
Pages: 1063–1076

Head Matter:
Karen MYERS, Individually and as Administratrix of the Estate of Her Minor Son, Samuel Todd Rodgers v. STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY and Les Reynolds.
No. 84-CA-1171.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.
Dec. 26, 1985.
Dissenting Opinion Jan. 9, 1986.
On Rehearing March 5, 1986.
Writ Granted May 1, 1986.
Joseph Olinde, Jr., Baton Rouge, for plaintiff-appellee Karen Myers, Individually and as Administratrix of the Estate of her minor son, Samuel Todd Rodgers.
Lawrence A. Durant, Baton Rouge, for defendant-appellant State of La., through Dept, of Transp. & Development.
Paul Marks, Baton Rouge, for defendant-appellee State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.
Before EDWARDS, LANIER and JOHN S. COVINGTON, JJ.

Opinion:
EDWARDS, Judge.
From a judgment in favor of the plaintiff the Department of Transportation and Development appeals. We affirm.
This suit arose out of an automobile accident in which eleven-year-old Samuel Todd Rodgers was severely injured when the Honda, automobile in which he was a passenger crashed into a tree on the side of the road. The driver of the Honda was Todd's friend, Donnie Brister, who was home on leave from the Navy. Very early on the morning of November 1, 1981, Donnie and Todd were traveling on Louisiana State Highway 37, Greenwell Springs Road, on their way to go squirrel hunting.
According to Donnie Brister, to avoid a collision with an oncoming car which was approaching him in his lane of travel, he veered to the right, slid into a ditch, lost control of his vehicle, and ultimately struck a large oak tree located in the ditch. Todd did not remember anything about the accident. The oncoming motorist did not stop and was never identified. There were no witnesses.
The DOTD argued that Donnie Brister simply went to sleep and ran off the road. The trial court, however, found that the accident occurred as a result of Donnie Brister performing an evasive maneuver, and accordingly concluded that Brister was not negligent. The court then apportioned fault for the accident: 75% to the unidentified oncoming motorist, and 25% to the DOTD. The oncoming motorist, who is liable in solido with the DOTD, was not a party to the suit, and consequently the court cast the DOTD for the entire award, mentioning DOTD's right to contribution. See LSA-C.C. art. 1804. The DOTD appealed, seeking to have the judgment against it reversed, or alternatively, a reduction in the amount of the judgment. Plaintiff answered, seeking an increase in the general damages award.
LIABILITY
We have reviewed the record and have found no manifest error in the trial court's fact finding as to how the accident happened. See Arceneaux v. Domingue, 365 So.2d 1330, 1333 (La.1978). It follows then that Brister was riot negligent, and therefore is not liable for damages. For the following reasons we also agree with the trial court's conclusion that the DOTD was 25% at fault.
The Department of Transportation and Development has a duty to provide and maintain its roadways in a reasonably safe condition, and that duty extends to those who must drive onto the shoulder because of an emergency condition. Sinitiere v. Lavergne, 391 So.2d 821, 823 (La.1980). This court recently held the DOTD liable for damages when a car struck a utility pole located on the shoulder of a State highway, notwithstanding the driver's negligence. See Lang v. Prince, 447 So.2d 1112 (La.App. 1st Cir.), cert. denied, 450 So.2d 1309 (La.1984).
At the point where the accident occurred, Louisiana State Highway 37 is a two-lane road, each lane being twelve feet wide, with a shoulder of one to two feet which quickly slopes into a two and one-half foot deep ditch. The speed limit is 45 miles per hour. A tree three and one-half feet in diameter was located in the ditch, nine feet from the edge of the paved roadway.
The highway design standards of the American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials represent the general practice in the profession. Defendant's expert testified that the DOTD, which is represented in AASHTO, accepts AASH-TO's guidelines as minimum standards, and when possible exceeds those standards. According to plaintiff's expert, AASHTO's standards for the class of highway in which Highway 37 is categorized recommend shoulders ten feet wide, but allow six foot shoulders as an absolute minimum. Plaintiff's expert also testified that the slope of the ditch was too steep, being two horizontal units to one vertical unit, compared with the minimum acceptable slope of four horizontal units to one vertical unit. Finally, plaintiff's expert stated that the horizontal clearance measured from the outside edge of the paved roadway should be thirty feet, rather than the nine feet that existed.
Defendant's expert testified that because this was an old highway (initially paved in 1939), which had only been widened and overlaid in 1958 and again in 1977, the AASHTO standards for new construction and major reconstruction do not apply. According to defendant's expert, the DOTD's standards for overlay projects require that the existing horizontal clearance be maintained, and that the shoulder width be that which is necessary to maintain the existing crown of the road.
It is true that the DOTD is not required to constantly update existing roads to comply with present day new construction standards. Yet on this road, the shoulders are narrower and the horizontal clearance is less now than when the road was initially paved. Each time the road was resurfaced, the paved portion was widened but no other work was done, so that the shoulders became progressively narrower, shrinking from approximately four feet to the present width of one to two feet. The horizontal clearance likewise decreased as the paved roadway became wider.
The experts agreed that the desirable horizontal clearance is thirty feet, and that the desirable slope for the ditch is six to one, but that the minimum acceptable is four to one. Both experts likewise agreed that the tree presented a hazard because it was so near the roadway.
The State had been on notice that this road was unsafe since 1978 when it received a petition from the employees of the Greenwell Springs Hospital. The petition stated:
Many wrecks have taken place and at least one death has occurred. There is no place to go if you are run off the road except in a ditch several feet deep. About 300 people work here and there are many visitors. We also have emotionally disturbed children who sometimes get away and might run into the road.
If the road only had a wide shoulder it would be much safer. A stop light, caution light, change in the speed limit, and/or enforcement of the existing laws would probably help this situation.
The problem is getting increasingly worse. If something isn't done we will have more accidents and possible deaths in the future. Gravel trucks use this road constantly. Although the present speed limit is only 45 MPH, a gravel truck cannot stop immediately, especially when it comes around a curve at 45 or 50 MPH and a vehicle or a person is right there.
The combination of the narrow shoulder, the steep incline of the ditch, and the tree located in the ditch made the road unsafe for motorists such as Donnie Bris-ter, who, because of an emergency situation, must drive off the road. Accordingly the DOTD breached its duty to maintain its roadways in a reasonably safe condition, and that breach was partially responsible for this accident because Brister did not have a safe zone in which to maneuver his car under emergency conditions.
DAMAGES
At the time the suit was filed, Todd's medical expenses totaled $9,500. By the time of the trial, two years later, the total had risen to approximately $15,-500. Todd Rodgers sustained serious facial injuries in this accident, leaving him with permanent scarring over one-half of his head. He has already undergone five reconstructive surgeries and the record clearly establishes that more reconstructive surgery will be necessary, perhaps another four or five operations. Accordingly the trial court's award of $35,000 for past and future medical expenses is certainly not unreasonable.
Likewise the general damages award of $50,000 is within the trial court's discretion, and accordingly will not be disturbed. See Reck v. Stevens, 373 So.2d 498 (La.1979). For the foregoing reasons the judgment of the trial court is affirmed at the DOTD's cost of $1,592.02. See LSA-R.S. 13:5112.
AFFIRMED.
LANIER, J., dissents and will assign reasons.
This appeal concerns only plaintiffs case against the Department of Transportation and Development.
. American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials.