Sycilla Collins v. Commonwealth Of…

Summary

The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of the wrongful-death negligence claim against the Department of Highways, concluding that the Department had no statutory, regulatory, or common-law duty to enforce vehicle-size restrictions on the highway. The court held that the duty to maintain highways in a reasonably safe condition does not extend to preventing every traffic-law violation or the negligence of third-party drivers. It also held that the special-relationship doctrine governing protection from criminal acts was inapplicable because the claim did not involve a particular officer's negligence or a law-enforcement duty to prevent crime.