The Washington Court of Appeals sided with a man who was seriously injured in a head-on crash involving a stolen water utility company vehicle, finding the district and its employee owed a duty of care to the victim when a truck unattended and running prior to being taken.
Judge Bernard F. Veljacic wrote the May 31 opinion for Division Two of the Washington Court of Appeals. The three-judge panel unanimously held that Lakewood Water District (LWD) owed Paul Adgar, who had been struck and seriously injured by one of the company’s stolen vehicles, a duty of care under the specific facts of the case, and therefore, reversed the trial court’s order granting of summary judgment.
