More than half the fatal accidents on highways are caused by vehicles that crashed due to leaving their traveling lane, causing head-on collisions, rollovers, falls off cliffs and collisions with fences, walls and trees. These accidents may seem at first to be caused completely by driver inattention, cell phones or involvement of alcohol or drugs, but an experienced California dangerous road accident attorney knows how to go the extra mile and investigate how dangerous roads may have contributed to the accident.
Why Do The Best Attorneys Investigate Dangerous Roads For Catastrophic Injury And Fatal Accident Cases?
California only requires motor vehicle owners to have liability insurance with a minimum of $15,000 per person, and $30,000 per incident as compensation for victims of accidents. That’s all that can be collected from the driver and owner of the vehicle even if the injuries are catastrophic or cause a fatality. Municipalities have deep pockets that can allow victims and their families to collect the very large amounts of compensation they deserve for medical expenses, lost earnings, lost future earning capacity, pain, suffering and mental anguish. That’s why it’s important to consider how dangerous road conditions may have contributed.
How Dangerous Roads Cause Accidents
Dangerous roads can cause or contribute to accidents due to their poor design, improper construction, faulty maintenance and failure to update due to changing conditions. These are some examples of defective road design:
- Curves that are too sharp;
- Pavement that lacks proper skid resistance;
- Steep slopes;
- Obstructed visibility;
- Exit or entrance ramps that are not long enough for safe merges;
- Missing or defective guardrails;
- Ravines and cliff that cause steep drop offs;
- Negligent placement of traffic signals;
- Poorly marked lanes and
- Poor drainage that causes slippery conditions.
Defective design claims assume that the construction was done properly based on the blueprints, but the design itself was negligent. It’s also possible to make claims based on construction that did not properly execute the design, used cheap improper materials or was not carried out competently. In other cases, the roads were properly designed and constructed, but were not properly maintained. For example:
- Potholes;
- Deteriorated guard rails;
- Broken traffic signals;
- Overgrown foliage;
- Faded lane lines and
- Missing or broken signage.
Failure to adapt to changing road conditions is becoming a more popular claim, especially in urban areas. Some examples failing to add traffic signals when an intersection has become much busier or ignoring mounting evidence that large amounts of accidents occur at a particular location.
California Dangerous Road Accident Attorneys
If you or a loved one is seriously injured in an accident, it’s important to contact a California dangerous road accident attorney that knows how to collect the largest amount of compensation possible under the circumstances.
Find Out How We Can Help
At Silva Injury Law we promote healing through compassionate advocacy. With each case tailored to the individual, we look our for your best interests by evaluating your unique circumstances. Contact us today for a FREE in person or remote consultation.