Highway repair accidents are accidents that can happen when highways or roadways are improperly maintained. Or, a failure to repair dangerous road conditions can also lead to highway accidents.
Examples are unrepaired potholes, dangerous highway dividers, railings that are not maintained, objects left on the roadway and failure to maintain paint lines, so lane markings are missing.
Any one of these conditions can lead to vehicle collisions and accidents, including:
- Collisions with jersey walls, railings or debris left in the roadway;
- Collisions with other vehicles or pedestrians;
- Vehicle tip overs;
- Various other accidents.
In addition, highway repair lawsuits may result from accidents that take place in the vicinity of highway road repair or improvement projects. Accidents of this type might happen for a variety of reasons. For example, the signage that warns of changed road conditions or the need for detours may be inadequate. Workers assigned to direct traffic may make mistakes because of fatigue or inattention with resulting accidents.
A highway repair accident can result in serious injuries, including head and neck injuries, back injuries, broken bones, burns, and injuries to internal organs. Accidents caused by highway repair issues can result in property damage as well, such as damage to a car, expensive personal items that are in a car at the time of an accident, or damage to a building.
Who Can be Held Liable for a Highway Repair Accidents?
Highway repairs are the responsibility of city, county, state or federal government agencies. Thus, liability for an injury caused by a faulty highway repair or lack of any repair at all depends on identifying the government agency that owns and is responsible for a particular road or highway.
It is possible that a particular roadway, or even a parking lot, would be privately owned. For example, a residential homeowners’ association might own a roadway that has been neglected leading to an accident and injury. A retailer, such as a grocery store chain, or a shopping mall owner might also be liable for accidents caused by conditions in the parking lots around their facilities. In these cases, the private party who owns the road or parking lot would be liable.
Finally, it is possible that a private contractor would be liable for a highway repair accident. For example, the owner of a roadway or parking lot, whether private or government, may have contracted with a snow removal contractor. In the event that the contractor damaged the road or otherwise negligently created a hazard, this contractor may be wholly or at least partially liable for any accident the condition caused.
Liability is usually based on a theory of negligence. To succeed with a lawsuit based on negligence, an injured party would have to show the following elements:
- Duty of Care: The owner of the road or parking lot owes a duty of care to motorists, pedestrians and other users of the road or lot. This duty includes the obligation to maintain it and keep it safe for use and free of hazardous conditions;
- Breach of the Duty: The owner of the road or parking lot knew or should have known of the dangerous highway condition and failed to correct it. Or, they may have repaired the condition in a way that was below acceptable standards, e.g. by using substandard materials or a faulty design. This would constitute a breach of their duty of care;
- Cause of Injury or Fatality: The failure of the owner to repair or remedy the dangerous condition was the direct cause of an accident in which the victim was injured or killed; and
- Resulting Damage: The victim’s injuries or death resulted in substantial economic losses to the victim. Or, in the case of a fatality, the victim’s close family members suffered the losses.
In addition, liability is more likely to be found if the accident and consequent injuries were foreseeable based on the condition of the highway at the time of the incident.
What If a Government Agency Owns the Road?
In most states and localities, most roads are maintained and repaired by agencies of city, county or state governments. If that is the case for the road on which a person has a highway repair accident, the agency that owns the road may require that a claim for compensation for injuries be submitted to the agency before a lawsuit is filed.
For example, in California, many roads are managed through Caltrans, a section of the state’s Department of Transportation. In order to sue a government agency such as Caltrans for injuries resulting from an accident, the victim would need to prove that the Caltrans was negligent and would need to file a claim with that agency first before filing in court.
Caltrans has its own process for filing a claim. It is based on the amount of damages an injured victim seeks. If the amount of a claim is $10,000 or less, the victim can file a claim directly through the Department of Transportation. If the claim is for an amount $10,000, the victim must file a claim with the state’s Government Claims Program, which is located in the capital city, Sacramento. A victim would probably want to consult a California personal injury lawyer for guidance in dealing effectively with this claim process.
Other states, counties and cities may have similar systems; they may require that a claim be filed with a government agency before a lawsuit is filed. A personal injury lawyer can advise a person about this issue.
What Are the Legal Remedies for a Highway Repair Lawsuit?
Lawsuits resulting from such incidents typically conclude in an award of compensatory damages for the injured party. An award of compensatory damages should reimburse the victim or the victim’s family for all of the economic losses that they sustain as a result of their injuries.
An award of damages should reimburse them for all of the costs of providing necessary medical treatment. This would include things such as hospital and doctors’ bills, surgical treatment, medications, and rehabilitation.
An award of compensatory damages should also cover the cost of repairing or replacing any property damaged in the accident. It would also compensate the victim for lost wages if they are unable to work because of their injury or the time needed to treat it. Other miscellaneous expenses associated with seeking necessary medical treatment should be reimbursed as well.
A lawsuit for negligence can proceed to a trial or it may be settled before a trial takes place. If the victim has not fully recovered by the time a case goes to trial or is settled, then the award of damages would have to cover the cost of future medical treatment or future lost wages.
If a victim’s earning capacity is permanently impaired, they would be compensated for that loss. If the victim suffers a permanent disability, of course, they would have to be compensated for that as well.
Finally, an award of damages would compensate the victim for their pain and suffering and, on some rare occasions, punitive damages.
What If My Family Member Was Killed in a Highway Repair Accident?
If the death of a victim results from an accident caused by highway conditions, then their close family members would file a wrongful death lawsuit. The remedy in a wrongful death is also an award of compensatory damages. The items reimbursed by an award of damages in a wrongful death case are some of the same items reimbursed by damages in a negligence case. These are referred to as “survival damages” in some states.
In addition to the cost of medical treatment, lost wages and other losses that the deceased person may have suffered, their family members would be compensated for their losses as well. For example, family members can recover damages for funeral and burial costs and the estimated value of the lifetime income the deceased would have provided to the household. In some cases, family members might also recover for services the deceased contributed to their household, such as home repairs or cleaning.
The family may recover non-economic damages, which compensate family members for such losses as the love, companionship, advice, and moral support that would have been provided by the deceased had they survived. Again, punitive damages might be recovered if the road owner was grossly negligent or even reckless.
Do I Need a Lawyer for Help with a Highway Repair Lawsuit?
Highway repair claims can be complicated and a person generally would want to be represented by an experienced personal injury lawyer when seeking compensation for losses from an accident, especially if their losses are significant.
If you were employed in a highway repair project and were injured on the job, you may wish to hire a workplace injury lawyer in your area if you need help with such a claim. Your attorney has the expertise needed to make an effective claim on your behalf and get the best possible result..
