Ohio Supreme Court Shields ODOT From Liability

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the Ohio Department of Transportation cannot be held liable for Marquise Byrd’s 2017 death, reversing a lower-court decision and directing dismissal of the lawsuit brought by his mother. Byrd was killed when a teenager dropped a sandbag from the Indiana Avenue bridge onto Interstate 75 in Toledo. Protective fencing was present on the side open to pedestrians but not on the side closed during construction; ODOT’s policy required fencing on completed bridges, not bridges under reconstruction. The court concluded that deciding whether to install temporary fencing during construction was a discretionary policy decision that grants the state immunity from liability.