Oral argument at the Oregon Court of Appeals!

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Last Friday I had the honor and pleasure of arguing before the Oregon Court of Appeals! The case involved two questions:

  • Whether discretionary immunity (which provides immunity to governments for high level policy decisions) shields ODOT from liability related to an in-the-field design and installation of a guardrail and end-piece that pierced the plaintiffs’ vehicle on impact, seriously injuring him.

  • Whether a crossover impact against the guardrail and end-piece in question was unforeseeable to ODOT as a matter of law.

Spoiler alert! Our answers to both questions was “No.”

The entire argument can be viewed here (starting around 1 hour, 19 minutes).

LawyeringLisa BenedettiDiscretionary Immunity, Highway Design, Personal Injury, Motor Vehicle Collision, Oregon, Governmental Liability