Vanderpool v. State

2 The facts are not in dispute. Appellant and plaintiff below while employed as an office worker by the Oklahoma Historical Society at a state historical site known as Fort Washita was an route to deliver a telephone message. While traversing the grounds, she was struck in the eye by a rock thrown up by a "Brush Hog" mower operated by a fellow employee while mowing weeds on the site, resulting in permanent loss of sight in her right eye. Plaintiff alleged negligence in that a protective shield on the mower had been removed by an employee of the State making the brush hog defective and allowing objects to be propelled from the mower, thus rendering the mower totally unfit, unsafe and highly dangerous. Plaintiff seeks damages from the State and from the Society. The district court granted defendants motion for summary judgment and dismissed the cause, holding that the doctrine of governmental immunity bars the action. Plaintiff appeals.