Pohl v. County of Furnas, No. 11-3044 (8th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseAfter Juston Pohl was injured in an automobile accident in Furnas County, Pohl brought this negligence action against the County, alleging that the accident was caused by the County's failure to have a properly placed and maintained road sign at the scene. The County responded that the accident was caused by Pohl's own negligent driving. The district court found both parties negligent, apportioning sixty percent of the negligence to the County and forty percent to Pohl, and awarding Pohl $407,163 in damages. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in (1) finding the County was negligent in its maintenance and placement of the sign; (2) finding that the County's negligence was a proximate cause of the accident; (3) finding that Pohl's negligence was a proximate cause of his injuries; and (4) apportioning negligence between the parties.
Court Description: Civil case - Torts. District court did not err in finding the County had breached its duty of care because the traffic sign located at the scene of plaintiff's accident was not reflective and was placed too close to a curve; nor did the court err in determining that the negligence was a proximate cause of the accident; district court properly weighed and determined plaintiff's contributory negligence and did not err in apportioning 40% blame to him and 60% blame to the county.
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