State Ex Rel. State Department of Highways & Public Transportation v. Gonzalez

This wrongful-death case involves a fatal highway collision that occurred at an intersection where vandals had repeatedly removed stop signs. The issue is whether the Texas Tort Claims Act (“the Act”) waives the State’s immunity for claims arising from the accident, which allegedly happened because unknown third parties removed the intersection’s stop signs. A jury determined that the Texas Department of Transportation’s negligence proximately caused the accident, and the trial court rendered judgment on the verdict. The court of appeals affirmed, holding that a stop sign’s susceptibility to…