Negligence

In Washington's competitive 3rd Congressional District race, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and challenger John Braun have clashed over the safety record of Braun Northwest, the family-owned emergency vehicle manufacturer Braun leads. The dispute centers on two 2024 incidents: a worker's death, ruled accidental by inspectors, and injuries to teenage apprentices that led to citations and fines for child labor and safety violations. Gluesenkamp Perez's ads accuse Braun of inadequate response and oversight; Braun disputes the characterizations and says the company has invested heavily in safety. The deceased worker's son has publicly criticized Braun, while an injured former apprentice has defended the company. Braun Northwest was cited again this week for a separate injury.

Ohio adopted a statewide bridge-fencing policy in 1985 to deter objects being thrown or dropped onto roadways below, scoring bridges on risk factors and requiring fencing above a threshold. Implementation was slow: by the late 1980s, 461 bridges qualified, but only two fencing-specific contracts, covering 11 bridges, had been completed by 1990. That year, a concrete fragment killed Pietro Semadeni on a Cincinnati overpass that had qualified for fencing but hadn't received it, leading the Ohio Supreme Court to find ODOT negligent in 1996. By contrast, the court ruled this October that ODOT was not liable for Marquise Byrd's 2017 death on a Toledo bridge under reconstruction, since no policy required temporary fencing during that construction phase. ODOT's 2026 manual now addresses temporary fencing guidance.

California's new vaccine exemption laws, Senate Bills 276 and 714, are mired in bureaucratic confusion a year after being signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The laws were meant to tighten oversight of medical exemptions, requiring a standardized state exemption form and flagging doctors disciplined or under investigation by the Medical Board of California. But the state Department of Public Health has not issued guidance on key provisions, leaving school nurses unsure whether increased scrutiny of exemptions applies now or starting in 2021.

State Sen. Richard Pan, the bills' author, insists some provisions are already in effect, including invalidating exemptions written by disciplined physicians such as Dr. Bob Sears, who was placed on probation in 2018. Four doctors, including Sears, face pending board allegations tied to immunizations. Advocacy groups and school nurse associations say the lack of clarity undermines the law's intent, while critics continue protesting the legislation, including outside Newsom's residence.

In an Oct. 6 ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court found the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) was not liable for the 2017 death of Marquise Byrd, a passenger struck by a sandbag thrown from Toledo's Indiana Avenue bridge during reconstruction. Protective fencing had been removed on the side under construction, and the court held ODOT retained discretionary immunity because no policy specifically required temporary fencing during construction work.

The decision contrasts with a 1996 case, Semadeni v. ODOT, in which the court found ODOT negligent for delaying implementation of its 1985 statewide bridge-fencing policy after a motorist was killed by concrete dropped from a Cincinnati overpass in 1990. That policy required fencing on qualifying existing bridges but initially funded only a fraction of them.

Justice Jennifer Brunner dissented in the Toledo case, arguing ODOT's removal of existing fencing without replacement was a negligent policy failure similar to Semadeni, not a protected discretionary choice. The appellate court had earlier ruled against ODOT before the Supreme Court reversed that decision.

California lawmakers have passed Senate Bill 1153, which would give water agencies a legal defense against lawsuits blaming them for hydrants running dry during wildfires. The bill clarifies that public water agencies have no duty to design or maintain systems for wildfire suppression, and that loss of water pressure during a wildfire is not a "substantial cause" of fire damages. It also requires water suppliers in high fire-risk zones to include wildfire-specific response procedures in disaster plans. The measure, sponsored by the Assn. of California Water Agencies, awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom's signature.

The bill follows lawsuits against Los Angeles and the LADWP over hydrant failures and an empty Santa Ynez Reservoir during January 2025's Palisades fire, which killed 12 people. Similar hydrant failures occurred in the Eaton fire and past blazes including the Tubbs, Thomas, and Woolsey fires. A separate bill requiring water agencies to disclose backup pump power failed, though a narrower Ventura County law mandating backup power was enacted last year. Supporters say SB 1153 protects ratepayers from costly litigation; critics argue it lets agencies avoid accountability for preparedness gaps.