By The Law Offices of John Day, P.C. on Nov 02, 2024 05:59 am
Where plaintiff was injured by a dangerous condition on state property created by the gross negligence of a state employee, the Claims Commission Act did not provide a cause of action. In Gordon v. State of Tennessee, No. W2023-01012-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 10, 2024), plaintiff child was injured when she cut her foot on a broken metal pipe under the surface of a state-owned lake. Plaintiff and her mom filed an action with the Claims Commission pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 9-8-307(a)(1)(C), which “relat[es] to negligently created or maintained dangerous conditions on state property.” The Claims Commission initially ruled for plaintiff, finding that the pipe remnant was left in the lake when the pipe was replaced, and that “the child’s injury was foreseeable and proximately caused by the State’s negligence.” The State filed a motion to alter or amend, arguing that the Recreational Use Statute provided immunity here. The Claims Commission agreed that the Recreational Use Statute applied, but it ruled that the facts of this case constituted gross negligence, which is an exception to immunity under the Recreational Use Statute. The Claims Commission affirmed the damages award to plaintiff, and defendant State appealed.
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