Opinion
November 11, 1936.
Present — Hill, P.J., Rhodes, McNamee, Bliss and Heffernan, JJ.
This claim is to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by claimant while operating his automobile on a State highway known as route 13, extending from the town of Truxton to the city of Cortland. About nine o'clock in the evening of July 7, 1935, claimant was driving his car southerly on this highway. His car skidded, left the highway, struck a tree and claimant was seriously injured. The Court of Claims found that the skidding of claimant's car was caused by reason of the existence of wet dirt and mud on the surface of the macadam which was from twenty-five to fifty feet lengthwise; that the existence of the dirt and mud on the highway resulted from the dirt in the bank on the west side of the highway being washed onto the highway during times of rain. The court also found that for several months prior to the accident there was a deposit of soil and dirt on the macadam highway at the place of the accident; that the road there was highly slippery and that the State failed to use reasonable care to remedy the same. The court also found that the State was negligent and that claimant was free from contributory negligence. The evidence sustains these findings. Judgment unanimously affirmed, with costs.