Louisiana Court Reduces Damages in Drop-Off Case

A woman driving in a highway construction zone at night left the paved road surface, went over a drop-off, and overturned her car after trying to re-enter the highway. She sued the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) for creating a drop-off hazard and failing to warn drivers with signs and barricades. The trial court assigned the DOTD 15 percent of the fault for the crash and awarded damages to the injured driver. The DOTD appealed the apportionment of fault and the damage awards, based on the plaintiff’s failure to mitigate her damages. The appeals court redistributed the fault, agreed the driver had not mitigated her damages, and amended the damage award.