The Court, when considering a motion for directed verdict, must determine whether Claimant has presented sufficient evidence to determine if a prima facie case of negligence has been made. (Stanley v. Board of Trustees of University of Illinois (1985), 39 Ill. Ct. Cl. 107, 110.) A claimant, when seeking recovery for alleged negligence, must show that Respondent owed a duty to claimant, that Respondent breached its duty to claimant and that duty was breached by a negligent act or omission which proximately caused the injury. (McCoy v. State (1975), 37 Ill. Ct. Cl. 182.) The claimant must prove that the State had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition. Feldman v. State (1984), 36 Ill. Ct. Cl. 158. The propositions of law as stated by the parties are not mutually exclusive nor are they necessarily contradictory. When considering a motion for directed verdict, the evidence presented in claimant's case must be viewed in its aspect most favorable to the opponent of the motion. The motion should be granted when all of the evidence, viewed most favorably to claimant, totally fails to establish one or more essential elements of the cause of action. Carter v. Winter (1965), 32 Ill. 2d 275, 204 N.E.2d 755, 758; Rogall v. Kischer (1971), 1 Ill. App. 3d 227, 273 N.E.2d 681; Glover v. City of Chicago (1982), 106 Ill. App. 3d 1066, 436 N.E.2d 623, 627, 62 Ill. Dec. 597.