Alaska Employment Law

After a court trial in a Federal Tort Claims Act case, Judge Ralph Beistline has issued a Memorandum Decision finding that the government was not negligent.  Hazel  Crawford had complained that the Air Force had failed to maintain the sidewalk and curb outside the Base Exchange at Eielson Air Force Base southeast of Fairbanks, and that its negligence had caused her to fall and severely injure herself.  Beistline had earlier entered summary judgment for the government, but had been reversed by the 9th Circuit.  Now, on trial after remand, Beistline has found no negligence.

Beistline held:

The Court is also unable to conclude the height of the curb constituted a hidden danger against which the Government was required to warn. The curb, at the sight of the fall, was roughly 9 to 10 inches above the asphalt. While this might appear higher to some then normal, it is not in violation of any building or safety codes. The walkway appears, by the photographs, to be following the natural contour of the land and does not stand out as a dangerous condition. And of particular significance, no evidence was presented at trial of any falls or complaints about the area in question during the roughly 13 years that it existed prior to Plaintiff’s fall or at any time since. This, despite the fact that Plaintiff’s expert [forensic engineer Jay Richard Smith] described the walkway as a high traffic area.  The Government had no reason whatsoever to believe that a dangerous condition existed at this location.

The sidewalk itself, at the site of this incident, was not dangerous or in disrepair. The pock marks Plaintiff refers to in the concrete are typical of sidewalks throughout the state.

Crawford v. U. S., 2008 WL 1776948 (D.Alaska Apr. 17, 2008)

Crawford has moved for reconsideration.

Tim Cook of Anchorage represented the plaintiff.   Susan Lindquist, Anchorage AUSA, represented the government.