Defective Roadway Design Accidents
If unsafe road conditions cause you to get in an accident, you may need the assistance of one of our New York defective roadway design accident lawyers.
The government must keep roads safe. At the federal, state, and county levels, the government that maintains a given route must ensure that the thoroughfare, its guardrails, signs, and rights of way are well-maintained. Highway engineers also must design safe roadways that don’t give rise to dangerous driving conditions.
When maintenance and construction workers fail to properly discharge their duties in relation to public roads, drivers and passengers pay the price. If you get into an accident because of improper road conditions caused by negligent work, the government entity responsible for the road in question may be liable to pay you damages.
How Our New York Defective Roadway Design Accident Lawyers Can Help You
The New York defective roadway design accident attorneys at Tucker Lawyers PC have the skill and expertise to investigate these complex cases, determine whether a government body may be liable for your accident, and campaign for compensation on your behalf.
Going up against the government is rarely easy in cases like this, but we have the experience needed to get you the payday you deserve. The first step for your NYC car accident lawyer is to prove that negligence did indeed lead to unsafe conditions on the roadway. Next, we must prove this negligence was the direct cause of your injury.
If you lost control on the road despite driving safely, and you can show that this loss of control was attributable to subpar driving conditions related to faulty roadway design or maintenance, you likely have a strong claim for defective roadway benefits. These could include compensation for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other financial and non-financial losses.
Why Choose Tucker Lawyers?
We’re a firm of defective roadway design accident lawyers with decades of combined experience fighting for clients’ rights after suffering injuries resulting from negligent road maintenance. We focus on emerging from your case with a settlement that will cover all the medical expenses and other costs your accident has left you facing.
On Our Results page, you’ll see the long list of five-, six-, and seven-figure settlements we’ve secured on behalf of our clients. If you read some of our Client Testimonials, you’ll learn how we’ve helped people whose lives have been changed by various types of accidents. For example, one past client summed us up as . . .
“Professional, experienced lawyers. Nice people also.”
Common Road Conditions That Cause Accidents
There are a number of issues that frequently arise on the road, potentially due to negligence on the part of a government authority, that can lead directly to accidents.
These include:
- Traffic light malfunctions: Improper or outdated IT management can cause traffic lights to change at the wrong times, making intersections extremely dangerous.
- Inadequate de-icing or plowing on roads: This is frequently the cause of dangerous skids during winter months.
- Obscured, illegible, broken, or nonexistent road signs: If, because of some obstruction or fault, drivers cannot read road signs in time to take corrective action, the government may be liable for “failure to warn” in the event of an accident.
- Large unfilled potholes and other hazards on the roadway: Obstacles on the road cause improper and dangerous driver reactions, especially on highways or freeways.
- Poorly maintained or non-contiguous guardrails: These allow veering or sliding vehicles to leave the road.
- Excessively steep grades and sharp turns: A failure to provide adequate signage for these could constitute another instance of “failure to warn.”
- Excessively narrow shoulder lanes: These leave broken-down vehicles too close to cars on the roadway, leaving the drivers and passengers of vehicles in both situations at risk.
- Poor drainage on roads: The formation of large pools of water on the roads can result from drainage issues, and these can cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles.
- Trees or greenery situated too close to the road: A failure on the part of local authorities to maintain an acceptable clearance between the roadway and surrounding trees may give rise to liability if it leads to an accident on the road.
Some difficulties can arise regarding the statute of limitations for civil claims against a government entity. The applicable time deadlines can be weeks or months shorter than those for other types of personal injury claims. Claimants ordinarily get one to two years to file a lawsuit, but this is not generally the case when government agencies are involved as defendants.
It’s not uncommon for a particular “black spot” to be the site of multiple accidents within a short time frame. The authorities often know there are issues in these locations, but, because maintenance work is often outsourced to private companies, issues are not addressed in time to prevent further collisions. Smart injury lawyers can identify trends like these and use them to their advantage in road accident litigation.
In cases involving improper roadway design, governments are typically even more reluctant to admit that issues exist, as doing so requires them to pay high roadway modification costs and compensation for accident victims.
You won’t be able to rely on the government to readily volunteer information about issues like these, which is why you need to work with defective roadway design accident attorneys who are used to conducting investigations for these types of cases.
Proving that Roadway Design Defects in New York Caused Your Crash
In order to successfully sue the public authority in charge of the road you had an accident on, you’ll have to establish:
- That the government entity breached its duty of care to you as a driver
- That this breach of duty caused you to have an accident
- That the accident caused you real harm.
In practice, this generally means proving that the road you were driving on was defective in some way and that this defect (and not some other factor out of the control of the relevant authority) caused you to have a car accident.
Car crashes aren’t always easy to accurately reconstruct in a negotiation or courtroom setting, and there may be many potential contributors to a collision. These cases can get highly technical, which is why hiring specialist defective road accident lawyers is always a good idea.
Tips for Preserving Evidence After a Defective Roadway Design Accident
Take photographs and videos of the crash scene from different angles as soon after the collision as it’s safe to do so. Capture images of any potential defects of the type we’ve discussed here, such as potholes, uneven surfaces, or missing signs.
Also, be sure to record anything else that might help to illustrate how your accident came about and how any road maintenance issues may have been a factor. Speak to anyone who saw your accident and ask if they would share their contact details and provide a statement about what happened.
Make sure that any physical evidence related to the accident, such as damaged vehicle parts or personal belongings, is kept safe and available for inspection. Request copies of any relevant records, such as police reports, medical records, and repair estimates for your vehicle.
Types of Compensation Available in Defective Roadway Design Cases
The damages you may be entitled to following a successful defective roadway design lawsuit in New York fall into three broad categories. These are special damages, general damages, and punitive damages.
Special Damages
Special damages, also known as economic damages, compensate victims for quantifiable financial losses, such as:
- Medical expenses: These can include emergency care, hospitalization, surgeries, medication, physical therapy, and any ongoing care that may be required.
- Lost earnings: You may be entitled to income replacement for earnings lost during your recovery period. Additionally, you may receive compensation for lost future earnings if your injuries left you unable to return to work, or unable to earn as much as you would otherwise have been.
- Property damage: You should be entitled to compensation in respect of any damage to your vehicle or any other belongings damaged in the accident.
General Damages
General damages, also known as noneconomic damages, are meant to compensate victims for the more intangible, subjective losses that result from accidents. These may include:
- Pain and suffering: This encompasses both the physical pain and the emotional distress that your accident causes you. The amount awarded for pain and suffering can vary widely, depending on the severity of the injuries and the impact on your life.
- Loss of consortium: In some cases, an accident victim’s spouse may be entitled to damages for the loss of companionship, affection, and support that results from the victim’s injuries.
- Loss of enjoyment of life: This refers to compensation for your inability to partake in activities you previously enjoyed.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are awarded in cases where the defendant’s conduct was particularly egregious, reckless, or malicious. These damages are not intended to compensate for losses you’ve suffered as a plaintiff, but rather to punish the defendant and deter similar behavior by others in the future.
Punitive damages are uncommon in defective roadway design cases, as it is very difficult to establish the requisite level of negligence on the part of a road maintenance authority.
Contact the Seasoned New York Defective Roadway Injury Attorneys at Tucker Lawyers PC
Defective roadway design and maintenance cases are difficult, but we’ve successfully tackled state, county, and local governments, as well as their roadway outsourcing partners. If you think your vehicle accident injuries were due to roadway negligence, don’t hesitate to call Tucker Lawyers PC for a free evaluation of your case. Your initial consultation is free, and if we don’t win your case, we won’t charge you any fees whatsoever.
Contact us today: (516) 399-2364
Managing Attorney John. J. Tucker, Esq.
John has personally handled thousands of clients who were victims of another’s negligence and fights relentlessly for their rights. John enjoys bringing closure to a client’s matter so that the injured party can move forward with their life. His background enables him to evaluate complex liability related claims and bring resolution to claims in a record time frame. [ Attorney Bio ]