Fogarty v. Department of Transportation

Plaintiffs decedent was killed in a car accident and plaintiff sued the Department of Transportation (dot), alleging liability under the highway exception to the doctrine of governmental immunity, MCL 691.1402; MSA 3.996G02). The dot unsuccessfully moved for summary disposition, and we granted its application for interlocutory appeal.

The sole issue here is whether the highway exception applies to a highway median, i.e., whether a median is part of the improved portion of the highway designed for vehicular travel. We hold that it is not.

The legislative intent of the statute was to impose a…