Tutko v. Cal-Trans
In this case the plaintiff was a riding a motorcycle on a heavily traveled, high speed, rural two-lane road. Cal-Trans had installed signals at a big intersection that was surrounded by essentially vacant land. In order to keep motorists from being surprised by this signal out in the country, Cal-Trans had installed a warning signal which lit up to tell motorists that the signal ahead was red or was about to turn red. However, it had made no provision about what was to happen when the power went out, as it did on the day of the accident. Plaintiff was hit by a car at the intersection, in part because he did not realize that the signal was not working until he was very close to it. The position of the sun in the sky at the time of the accident made the signals themselves very hard to see. Plaintiff received a badly broken leg, from which he made a pretty complete recovery. We were able to argue that the advance warning sign is like a railroad crossing signal: when it is dark, it tells you it is safe to proceed - you have the green light. Failure to make some provision for a power failure resulted in a trap. Result: Verdict for the plaintiff for $365,000.