MADISON, Neb. — Though both parties were negligent, Madison County must pay two men for damages from a crash on a minimum maintenance road, District Judge James Kube has ruled.
Larry Blaser and Terry McCaw were driving near Battle Creek on Nov. 9, 2008, when Blaser's pickup crashed on a washed-out part of the road. Both men were injured, McCaw seriously.
The county maintained that it wasn't liable because the road had been vacated years earlier. However, Kube said the county retained the right of way and was aware of public use, making it liable.The county also claimed that Blaser and McCaw were using the road for a recreational activity — hunting — which exempts the county from liability.
"This, however, requires a leap of logic," Kube said. "The credible evidence here is that those two plaintiffs were simply returning to Norfolk for lunch, their morning hunting activities having been completed. At the time of the accident, they were motorists, not hunters."
But Blaser was traveling too fast for the condition of the road and failed to maintain control of the vehicle, Kube said.
Kube found the county 60 percent negligent in the crash.
Blaser was awarded $6,093; McCaw, $365,383; and his wife, Patricia, $12,000. The county has made a motion for a new trial.
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