Traphagan v. Mid-America Traffic Marking

Kathy Jo Traphagan was killed when the car she was driving struck the rear of a Mid-America Traffic Marking (Mid-America) truck. The personal representative of Traphagan’s estate sued Mid-America. The trial court overruled Mid-America’s motion for directed verdict; however, the court held that Traphagan was contributorily negligent as a matter of law in violating Nebraska’s “range of vision” rule. The court submitted the issue of Mid-America’s negligence to the jury. The jury found that the accident was caused 75 percent by Mid-America’s negligence and 25 percent by Traphagan’s negligence,…