Berrien County v. Vickers

Citation38 S.E.2d 619,73 Ga.App. 863
Decision Date06 June 1946
Docket Number31266.
PartiesBERRIEN COUNTY v. VICKERS.
CourtUnited States Court of Appeals (Georgia)

Syllabus by the Court

1. While a county is not liable to suit unless made so by statute, it has been provided by a statute of this State that a county is primarily liable for all injuries caused by reason of any defective bridges, whether erected by contractors or county authorities; and the term 'bridge,' as used in said statute, includes all the appurtenances necessary to its proper use, and embraces its abutments and approaches.

2. Where the county or state highway department negligently leaves road machinery on the abutment or approach to a bridge, so as to render it dangerous for automobiles to travel thereon and which causes injuries to a person undertaking to cross the bridge in an automobile, such dangerous condition in the bridge is a defect in the bridge within the meaning of the statute which makes a county liable for injuries caused by a defective bridge.

(a) A suit may be maintained against a county and a verdict and judgment obtained against it for damages resulting from a defect in a bridge, although it may appear that jurisdiction over the highway on which the bridge was located had been assumed by the highway department under terms of law, and that the highway department, and not the county, was guilty of the negligence in the maintenance and construction of the bridge or its approaches which caused the injury; for, in contemplation of the law, the negligence charged against the highway department is the negligence of the county.

3. The concrete structure described in the plaintiff's petition erected over a creek so as to make a continuous roadway and to afford to travelers a convenient passageway from one bank of the creek to the other, is a bridge, within the meaning of the Code, § 95-1001, which makes a county primarily liable for injuries caused by reason of any defective bridges.

4. The fact, that the bridge over the creek on the highway had 12 inches of dirt and asphalt paving on top of its concrete floor, did not constitute the structure a culvert, instead of a bridge.

5. The petition set out a cause of action and the trial judge did not err in overruling the demurrer thereto.

John S. Vickers sued Berrien County for damages for personal injuries alleged to have been sustained on the approach to a bridge across Thigpen creek or branch on State Route No. 125, between Valdosta and Ray City, Georgia. It is alleged that the accident occurred on the night of August 25, 1945, at about 10 o'clock p. m., while the plaintiff was riding on the front seat of an automobile that was being driven by R. A. Passmore, Jr., in a northerly direction along said highway at a rate of speed of approximately 40 miles per hour, and that as the said R. A. Passmore approached the north end of said bridge he struck a cut-away harrow which was upon and on the east side of the roadway of such highway and extending on said structure approximately two feet from the north edge thereof, and after hitting and passing over said harrow and about 10 feet further north on the roadway on said approach to the bridge the automobile struck a rubber tire packer, consisting of five rubber tires on the rear and two rubber tires in the front, the same being a triangular shaped object, and by the impact of the collision the automobile was almost completely demolished and the plaintiff was severely injured as alleged in the petition; that the collision and injuries thereby inflicted on the plaintiff occurred on a dark night, the driver of the automobile being unable to see the said machinery that had been negligently left on said bridge and the approach thereto by the State Highway Department, acting by and through its employees, without any notice or warning signs to indicate that said highway was being repaired or of the presence of said machinery thereon, although said highway was then being used by the public in driving cars over the same; and that said bridge was thereby rendered defective on said occasion.

The description of the concrete structure as set out in detail in the petition is as follows: 'The overall span of the structure (measured lengthwise along said highway) is approximately 28 feet and 6 inches. The overall width of the structure is approximately 37 feet and 8 inches. The height of the structure from the contiguous ground to the top thereof is approximately 9 feet. The clear height of the opening under the structure from the bottom of the floor thereof to the bottom (in the ground) of the structure is approximately 7 feet. This structure is divided into three sections between the north abutment and the south abutment. Beginning at the south abutment there is one section approximately 8 feet wide; farther north there is another section approximately 8 feet wide; and still farther north there is another section approximately 8 feet wide. There are between the abutment on the south and the abutment on the north two concrete walls, each being 1 foot in thickness and joining with and extending underneath the floor of the structure at right angles to the floor of the structure that is across and under the floor of the structure, which, together with the abutments at both ends of the structure, support and hold in place the structure. In brief, the structure is divided into three sections, as aforesaid, by the north abutment and the south abutment and the two walls between the two abutments just described. There are two head walls on each side of the structure, the same being one foot and four inches in width. The space between the north wall of the abutment and the south wall of the abutment is approximately 26 feet. The width of the stream spanned by the structure is approximately 26 feet. The surface of the roadway over the top of the structure is flush with the top of the headwall and rises in height approximately 8 inches from the side of the roadway to the center of the roadway, and such roadway over the structure is also flush with the top of the roadway on the north and south ends of the structure. The concrete floor of the structure is approximately 12 inches in thickness. Two photographs, showing different views of the structure, are attached to and made a part of the petition. The structure involved had been built and constructed by the State Highway Department on said highway and as a part thereof within ten years from...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT