WARREN (WWJ) -- The case of a driver who was seriously hurt by a flying piece of concrete along I-696 is moving forward after a ruling Wednesday from the Michigan Supreme Court.
The State Supreme Court gave the go-ahead to the lawsuit filed by Norman Champine, who suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was struck by a 20-pound chunk of concrete while driving along I-696, near Mound, in 2017.
The court ruled against the Michigan Department of Transportation's (MDOT) claim that the agency wasn't notified in time of the lawsuit being filed.
His attorney Christopher Desmond claims MDOT has a duty to keep the roads safe.
"The Michigan legislature imposed an affirmative duty on the State of Michigan to maintain their highways in a state of reasonable repair so that they're safe for motorists."
Desmond also said that MDOT was aware of the roads being in bad condition.
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"The Warren Police Department and the Michigan Department of Transportation came to the site of the accident that day," said Desmond. "Their testimony in our case was that they were unable to find the exact location of this piece of concrete because there were thousands of potholes within the general area of where the accident occurred."
The case now goes back to the Appeals Court to resolve other issues.
MDOT hasn't commented on the case
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