IN THE LEGISLATIVE CLAIMS COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

VALERIE LONG

v.

WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION,

DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS

(CC-20-0121)

Claimant appeared pro se.

Keith A. Cox, Attorney at Law, for the Respondent.

PER CURIAM:

This claim was submitted to the Legislative Claims Commission upon a Stipulation entered into by the Claimant and the Respondent wherein certain facts and circumstances of the claim were agreed to as follows:

1. On January 11, 2020, the Claimant was driving her 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe on Wallace Pike in Wallace, Harrison County, when the Claimant’s vehicle was struck by a falling tree that was adjacent to the roadway.
2. The Respondent was responsible for the maintenance of Wallace Pike in Wallace, Harrison County, and failed to properly maintain the road on the date of this incident.
3. As a result of the incident, the Claimant’s vehicle sustained damages sufficient to have it declared a total loss in the amount of $8,357.07.
4. The Claimant’s collision insurance required a deductible of $500.00.
5. The amount of $500.00 is fair and reasonable.

The Legislative Claims Commission, having reviewed the facts of the claim, hereby finds that the Respondent was negligent in its maintenance of Wallace Pike, Wallace Harrison County on the date of this incident, that the negligence of the Respondent was a proximate cause of the damages sustained by the Claimant, and that the amount of damages agreed to by the parties is fair and reasonable. The Claimant may make a recovery for the damages.

It is the opinion and recommendation of the Legislative Claims Commission that the Claimant should be awarded the sum of $500.00 in this claim.

Award of $500.00.