California Dangerous Road Conditions Attorneys
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Our California Dangerous Road Conditions Attorneys Are Focused On Justice Through Due Process
While car accidents can stem from driver negligence, there are cases where the roads are actually to blame. In many cases, these accidents result from poorly maintained or designed roads. People involved in such crashes can be confused about what options they have for obtaining compensation as it relates to damage to their motor vehicles and the injuries they suffered. If you suffer injuries or damage to your car because of an unsafe road, you may want to speak to a California dangerous road conditions attorney.
The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) found that 6,953 of the 24,955 bridges (27.9%) in California were structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, and 68 percent of the roads were in poor or mediocre conditions, according to 2013 data. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure said that 43% of American roads were in poor or mediocre condition, with only 15.4% being fair and 41.9% being good. A defective roadway claim can be much more complex than the traditional personal injury claim stemming from a car accident.
Since most roadways are overseen by certain city, state, or federal government entities, legal action can involve different procedures, and there is also the possibility that liability may be complicated by multiple parties being at fault. Certain types of dangerous road conditions, such as potholes, not only cause damage to your motor vehicle but can also cause accidents that result in physical injury to both you and your passengers. When you think that a defective roadway was to blame for your automobile accident in California, you may need an experienced personal injury lawyer who can advocate for you throughout the legal process.
A government entity may be responsible for maintaining the safety of local roads and highways. If such an entity allows road conditions to become unsafe to the point that they cause accidents and injuries, then it may face liability for the resulting damages to victims.
Dangerous Roads In California
Research and analysis website ValuePenguin reported that the most dangerous road in America was Interstate 5 (I-5), with 584 people killed in 544 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2019. The Scripps Howard News Service’s “Killer Roads” national reporting project stated that Interstate 15 (I-15) between Las Vegas and Los Angeles was the most deadly stretch of road in the United States, with 1,069 people killed in 834 accidents between 1994 and 2008.
An article entitled “10 of America’s Most Dangerous Roads” in Popular Mechanics found that California State Route 138 (SR 138) was the most dangerous road in the state. The story noted that drivers in California had borrowed the phrase “highway of death” or “death road” from Bolivia’s infamous North Yungas Road and applied it to SR 138, and ABC News reported that the highway had also earned the names of the “California Deathway” and “Blood Alley.”
Responsibility For Road Safety
There are 350,000 acres of right-of-way controlled or owned by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), as well as 15,133 centerline miles of highway and 13,063 bridges on state highways. It also inspects more than 12,200 local bridges. Caltrans maintains all freeways and state highways. Property owners maintain other private roads, while other public roads are not in the County Maintained System.
County highways and roads are roads that have been made a part of the County’s Maintained Road System by formal action of the Board. A county has an obligation to maintain these roads and can be liable for any failure to do so. The county has no obligation to maintain other public roads, which may be maintained by the people who live on or own property adjacent to the road.
Such property owners can be liable for defective conditions that may contribute to an accident. Private roads are used specifically by property owners, and the county has no authority to maintain these roads.
Other roads may be maintained by government agencies such as the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Meanwhile, some local and residential roads in the county are within city limits, and the city is responsible for maintaining these roads.
Our client was driving with his wife and son on a two-lane highway when a drunk driver crossed the double yellow lines, causing a head-on collision that claimed the life of a loving wife and mother.– Arash Khorsandi
How The Government Learns About Dangerous Road Conditions
California allows governmental entities a reasonable amount of time to learn about dangerous road conditions and a reasonable amount of time to repair the hazardous conditions. Determining what is reasonable can vary depending on the case.
Government agencies often discover unsafe road conditions through surveys of roads that are performed on a regular basis, reports from people in the community who have witnessed dangerous conditions, or regular road maintenance they perform on roadways. The government can try to claim that it did not discover a dangerous road condition, but a court can still hold the government liable when it discerns that the problem should have been found within a reasonable time.
You can prove that a governmental entity had knowledge of dangerous conditions if there are documented reports of these hazards to the government. In other cases, inspection records may indicate that the hazardous condition has already been identified or should have been identified.
Issues With A Government Not Discovering Unsafe Conditions
Government agencies or the local government may claim that they had no idea about defective road conditions in an effort to avoid responsibility. The issue will always be whether the government had a reasonable amount of time to discover a defective road condition.
A defect that was caused by some kind of event on the same day as an accident could probably mean that the government is not liable. When an accident is the result of a defective condition that arose several months in advance of the accident, then the city, state, or government agency responsible for the road maintenance may face liability.
A court may conclude that a government is only liable when it had sufficient time to correct a hazardous condition. If it cannot be proven that a dangerous condition had existed for some time, it may be harder to establish the liability of the government entity.
Types Of Government Liability For Dangerous Road Conditions
In most cases, a city, state, or federal government agency is responsible for maintaining roads and performing corrective measures when a road is not suitable for driving on. There are many different kinds of hazardous conditions that can cause danger for people driving on dangerous roads.
Some of the most frequent kinds of road dangers include, but are not limited to:
- Poor roadway design.
- Potholes, cracks in the road, or broken pavement.
- Shoulder drop-offs.
- Uneven surfaces.
- Debris that was not removed in a timely manner.
- Road signs covered by foliage or signs that have fallen.
- Insufficient or inadequate notification of changes on the shoulders.
- Excessive gravel or oil.
- Humps in the roadway.
- Poorly established construction zones.
- Lack of guardrails or median rails.
- Hazardous curves in the road design.
- Lack of rumble strips.
- Loose gravel.
- Inadequate highway division, edge lines, or line striping.
- Lack of a shoulder‑recovery area.
- Damage to bridges or overpasses.
- Lack of proper warning signs or signals.
- Dangerous curves.
- Improper speed markings.
- Faded lane markings.
- Dangerous intersections.
- Poor lighting.
- Steep inclines or declines.
- Clogged drainage that causes road flooding.
- Blind turns.
- Malfunctioning stop lights.
All of the hazards listed above can be possible causes for dangerous roadway claims. A California dangerous road conditions lawyer can conduct an investigation into the hazard to determine how long the danger existed and whether a government agency can be liable.
Causes Of Dangerous Road Conditions
The government may claim that dangerous road conditions were the result of causes beyond their control, normal wear and tear associated with high traffic, and acts of nature. Such explanations often ignore other contributing causes, however. In some cases, poor road design or road planning can also play an important role in defects. There can also be other contributing factors, such as companies using cheaper materials for the construction of roads or bridges, or failing to maintain and repair the roadways adequately.
Barriers and guardrails may suddenly become damaged following other traffic accidents, and governments typically need to replace them promptly. When there are concerns about how visible road lines and markers are, the government should be aware that such lines can fade over time and make an effort to reapply fresh paint.
Making A Claim For Injuries After A Dangerous Road Condition Accident
You may want to work with a California dangerous road conditions attorney when you need to file a claim for a dangerous road condition. It is because filing legal action against a government entity can be confusing. It is important that you know the name of the road where your accident occurred, where exactly the dangerous condition is located on that road, and what direction you were traveling at the time.
Certain forms of evidence you can capture at the scene of your accident can also be helpful, including any photographs you have of the hazard, as well as the names and phone numbers of any witnesses. If you contacted the police and a police report was filed, you may want to provide it to your lawyer as well. You can also take pictures of visible injuries after the accident.
Knowing Who To Sue For Injuries
In most cases, a defective roadway claim is going to be filed against a governmental entity responsible for maintaining the road. Every case is different, though, so there can be situations in which other third parties also bear liability. The government may not be liable in all cases, such as a dangerous road condition being the result of a trucking company spilling excess gravel on the road. Other kinds of third-party causes can include manufacturers of defective stoplights.
Lawsuits are not always necessary. Some cases get settled through negotiations. However, a case may go to court if an insurance company refuses to provide a suitable settlement offer.
Suing Subcontractors Working For The Government
It is far from uncommon for a government to hire a contractor or subcontractor to perform certain roadway maintenance work. When that contractor or subcontractor then engages in faulty work that creates a hazardous road condition, they may become the party liable for the resulting injuries. This situation represents another reason it is so important for people to seek the help of a skilled personal injury lawyer. They understand the process of subpoenaing the government’s records and determine not only who the contractors or subcontractors were but also what responsibility they may have for your injuries. When you retain legal counsel after a dangerous road conditions accident, you may improve your chances of identifying possible liable parties and pursuing legal action.
Proving How Dangerous Road Conditions Caused Your Injuries
In a personal injury case in California, a victim will need to prove the basic elements of negligence. Those elements are that a liable party owed the victim a duty of care, the liable party breached that duty of care through some form of negligence, and the liable party’s negligence caused harm to the victim. It is advisable that accident victims seek immediate medical attention following a crash because they not only need to get a doctor to diagnose their condition properly, but they also want to have a medical record connecting their injuries to their accident.
After you prove your injuries were connected to your accident, you can then prove the resulting damages for which you are seeking recovery. The government or an insurance company may try to argue that your injuries were pre-existing conditions or that you were actually the party at fault for causing the injuries. An experienced attorney can advocate for you during these situations.
Information Presented In Court
When a defective roadway case makes it to court, several pieces of evidence are likely to be presented. Statements of witnesses to your accident can be beneficial in most cases since they are not coming from either the plaintiff or defendant in a legal action.
The police report is another important type of evidence because, like witness statements, these reports are independent of victims’ or liable parties’ perspectives. A victim’s own testimony can also be entered into evidence in court. You may want to submit photographs of your accident scene. A lawyer can present different pieces of evidence, such as government survey records, your medical records, and the costs of vehicle repairs.
Finally, evidence demonstrating that a government had knowledge of the road defect is important. Proof of this knowledge can include anything that shows the government knew about a dangerous road condition but did not do anything to correct it.
Government Arguments Against Damages In Your Case
The government is not likely to admit it was at fault. The government may attempt to avoid accountability by arguing that you were driving in an unsafe manner or that you were doing something while driving (such as being distracted) that caused your accident.
In other cases, the government can try to argue that there was another cause beyond its control that caused your accident, such as the actions of another negligent driver. The government may also say that it had no knowledge of a dangerous road condition, and it did not have a reasonable amount of time to institute a repair.
Sovereign Immunity Concerns
While California Government Code § 815 provides that a public entity cannot be liable for an injury, whether an injury arises out of an act or omission of the public entity or a public employee, or any other person, the California Tort Claims Act allows for the government to be liable in cases of injuries involving dangerous conditions on public property.
A government agency may be liable for injuries when:
- An injury occurs on property that is owned or controlled by a public entity.
- There were some dangerous conditions on the property owned or controlled by a public entity.
- The dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of injury.
- The dangerous condition was either the result of the negligent or wrongful act or omission of a public employee who was acting within the scope of their employment.
- A public entity had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition to take reasonable measures to prevent injuries.
California Government Code § 830.6 provided design immunity for public entities, but California Government Code § 835 establishes that a public entity can be liable for an injury caused by a dangerous condition of its property if the victim proves that:
- The property was in a hazardous condition at the time of their injury.
- The injury was proximately caused by a dangerous condition.
- The dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the kind of injury that was involved.
- Either of the following had caused or contributed to the incident:
- A negligent or wrongful act or omission of an employee of the public entity within the scope of their employment created the dangerous condition.
- The public entity had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition enough time prior to the injury to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous condition.
Identifying a dangerous condition may require working with an expert in traffic safety to assess potential defects on roadways that could cause injuries. Dangerous road conditions attorneys can collaborate with these professionals to enhance their understanding of the case.
The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) is a piece of federal legislation providing a legal means for compensating people who suffer injuries, death, or property loss or damage because of a negligent or wrongful act or omission of a federal government employee. The FTCA allows individuals to pursue damages from the U.S. government if the negligent or wrongful act would make the government liable under the laws of the location where the incident occurred.
Statute Of Limitations For Dangerous Road Condition Cases
- You have 6 months from the date of injury to send your claim.
- The agency then has 45 days to respond to your claim:
- If it gets denied, you have 6 months from the date they mailed the rejection letter to file a lawsuit.
- If they failed to respond within 45 days, you have two years from the date of injury to pursue legal action.
Damages In Dangerous Roadway Cases
A victim may be able to pursue compensation for different kinds of damages in their dangerous roadway case, depending on the actual losses they sustained. Many cases are resolved through settlements, and having a personal injury lawyer negotiate any potential offer is important, as they understand the value of your case and can work to protect your interests.
If a case goes to trial and is successful, the victim may be awarded compensatory damages. Compensatory damages usually include both economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages refer to your actual losses that can be proven. Non-economic damages are much more subjective losses without economic value.
Economic damages often include:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Property damage
- Rehabilitation expenses
- Physical therapy costs
Non-economic damages might include:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Physical limitations
- Disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Punitive damages are a much less common form of damages in personal injury cases, and such damages are specifically prohibited in claims against government agencies. Victims cannot recover punitive damages against a governmental entity in any case.
Call Us Today To Speak With A California Dangerous Road Conditions Attorney
Do you think that a dangerous road condition caused your most recent automobile accident in California? The team at Arash Law, led by Arash Khorsandi, Esq., handles dangerous road claims and can explain your options for seeking compensation. Call (888) 488-1391 or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation with our California dangerous road conditions attorneys.
