Polzo v. County of Essex

We must determine whether a county can be held liable for a fatal accident that occurred when a person lost control of her bicycle while riding across a two-foot wide, one-and-one-half inch depression on the shoulder of a county roadway. Although potholes and depressions are a common sight on New Jersey’s roads and highways, public-entity liability is restricted under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act (TCA), N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 to 12-3. Liability attaches to a public entity only when a pothole or depression on a roadway constitutes a dangerous condition; the public entity either causes the condition…