New York Poor Road Design Accidents
Did you know that there are many parties who could be held liable for the injuries you sustain in a vehicle accident? More often than not, a car accident will involve two vehicles in which the fault can be determined relatively easily by looking at the driver's behavior prior to the accident. For example, if the other driver was speeding, distracted or under the influence of alcohol or drugs, it's very easy to show when filing a civil personal injury claim that one person was responsible. Much like a truck accident or any other personal injury claim, you may have grounds to recover compensation.
However, having a poor road design accident attorney in New York to assist you with your claim is extremely powerful because more than one entity may be held liable for your injuries. This is extremely common in a situation where it seems like the accident came out of nowhere and when only one driver was involved or when two drivers were involved but it is not easy to tell at the scene that either one of them was responsible for causing the accident.
Municipalities and entities responsible for properly designing and maintaining roadways could also be held responsible in the event of an accident if poor road design contributed or completely caused the accident. Hazardous roads can lead to critical and life changing injuries. These accidents could be caused by confusing signage, inappropriate road design or poor maintenance.
Your poor road design accident lawyer in New York will probably dispatch a team of experienced professionals to reconstruct the scene of the accident or to investigate it as soon as possible.
Poor road design may be something that the city or municipality should have known about and failed to correct appropriately, thus increasing the chances that someone would be involved in a life-threatening accident. These dangerous road conditions can cause critical injuries for passengers, pedestrians, and drivers. The construction and engineering of roadways should be done to safeguard drivers from critical road hazards. However, when that design of the roadway is inappropriate, it can lead to devastating consequences for everyone involved. The following are some of the most common road conditions that can lead to fatal or severe road crashes if faulty maintenance or design is involved. These include;
- Bankings. The outside edge of the road should be raised at an appropriate angle for safety.
- Entry and exit ramps. Traffic congestion can make it difficult to avoid backups at highway exit and entry ramps. Inappropriate design can hinder vehicles from changing lanes and safely merging.
- Guardrails and barriers. Speed bumps, barriers, medians, and guardrails should all help to separate lanes of traffic and to prevent one vehicle from crossing into the median or leaving the roadway.
- Road surface. An inappropriately designed road surface that does not warn drivers about upcoming hazards could lead to a personal injury claim against the entity responsible.
- Shoulder design. Adequate shoulder room on a roadway can improve the safety of a road significantly by giving greater space between the vehicle traffic and a ditch or a barrier.
When any of these issues are tied to inappropriate road design and an accident occurs, you will need a New York poor road design accident lawyer at your side immediately.
A proper investigation should be completed to figure out which elements contributed to an accident and how you may be able to pursue an injury claim effectively against the responsible parties. Handling a case like this on your own can be difficult because different rules may apply when a city or other government entity could be held responsible for an accident. For this reason, you want a lawyer who has a track record of properly investigating and handling these cases to pursue maximum compensation for your severe injuries. Poor road design is a very complex and technical aspect of the law and one that should be handled by an experienced lawyer who knows how to fight for you.