Opinion ID: 1689914
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: dotd's liability

Text: We must determine whether DOTD was at fault. Under Louisiana law, liability for injuries sustained by one as the result of a defective condition of a thing is based on legal fault, i.e., strict liability. See LA. CIV.CODE ANN. art. 2317. [9] Louisiana's codal provision for legal fault is found in LA. CIV.CODE ANN. art. 2317 which provides: We are responsible, not only for the damage occasioned by our own act, but for that which is caused by the act of persons for whom we are answerable, or of the things which we have in our custody.... In an action asserting liability under LA. CIV.CODE ANN. art. 2317 before 1996, the plaintiff bore the burden of proving three elements: (1) that the thing which caused the damages was in the care, custody, and control (garde) of the defendant; [10] (2) that the thing had a vice, ruin, or defect that presented an unreasonable risk of harm; and (3) that the vice, ruin, or defect was the cause-in-fact of the plaintiff's damages. LA. CIV.CODE ANN. art. 2317; Sistler, 558 So.2d at 1106; Loescher v. Parr, 324 So.2d 441 (La.1975). [11] To recover, plaintiff bears the burden of proving these elements in the affirmative, and the failure on any one is fatal to the case. We must therefore determine if the appellate court erred in determining that the trial court was clearly wrong in finding DOTD strictly liable for Lasyone's damages. DOTD's duty is to maintain the public roadways in a condition that is reasonably safe and does not present an unreasonable risk of harm to the motoring public exercising ordinary care and reasonable prudence. LA.REV.STAT. ANN. § 48:21(A); Netecke v. State of Louisiana, through DOTD, 98-1182, 98-1197 (La.10/19/99), 747 So.2d 489; Campbell v. Department of Transp. & Dev., 94-1052 (La.1/17/95), 648 So.2d 898, 901-02; Oster v. Department of Transp. & Dev., 582 So.2d 1285, 1288 (La.1991). DOTD must maintain the shoulders and the area off the shoulders, within its right-of-way, in such a condition that they do not present an unreasonable risk of harm to motorists using the adjacent roadway and to others, such as pedestrians, who are using the area in a reasonably prudent manner. Brown v. Louisiana Indemnity Co., 97-1344 (La.3/4/98), 707 So.2d 1240, 1242; Oster, 582 So.2d at 1289-91. DOTD's duty to maintain safe shoulders encompasses the foreseeable risk that for any number of reasons a motorist might find himself on, or partially on, the shoulder. Graves v. Page, 96-2201 (La.11/7/97), 703 So.2d 566, 572; Rue v. State, Dep't of Highways, 372 So.2d 1197, 1199 (La.1979). This duty extends not only to prudent and attentive drivers, but also to motorists who are slightly exceeding the speed limit or momentarily inattentive. Ledbetter v. State, Through La. Dep't of Transp. & Dev., 502 So.2d 1383, 1387 (La.1987). This duty, however, does not render DOTD the guarantor for the safety of all the motoring public. Graves, 703 So.2d at 572; Briggs v. Hartford Ins. Co., 532 So.2d 1154, 1156 (La.1988). Further, DOTD is not the insurer for all injuries or damages resulting from any risk posed by obstructions on or defects in the roadway or its appurtenances. Id. Moreover, not every imperfection or irregularity will give rise to liability, but only a condition that could reasonably be expected to cause injury to a prudent person using ordinary care under the circumstances. Entrevia v. Hood, 427 So.2d 1146, 1149 (La.1983). Whether DOTD breached its duty to the public, by knowingly maintaining a defective or unreasonably dangerous roadway, depends on all the facts and circumstances determined on a case by case basis. Campbell, 648 So.2d at 901-02.