Baker v. Wayne County
Annotate this CaseSeventeen-year-old Kelli Baker was driving on a county road when one of her tires slipped off the right side of the road. The car hit a tree and caught on fire, killing Baker. Baker’s estate and parents filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Wayne County and its employees. The trial court granted summary judgment for Defendants. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that the edge drop that existed on the county road at the time of Baker’s accident could give rise to Defendants’ liability under Ohio Rev. Code 2744.02(B)(3) for negligently failing to keep “public roads” in repair. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that an edge drop at the limit of a paved roadway is not part of “public road” as defined in Ohio Rev. Code 2744.01(H), and therefore, Plaintiffs’ claims were barred by sovereign immunity.
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