CAR ACCIDENTS

Accidents Caused By Dangerous
Road Conditions

Car accidents are caused by various different factors. One of the most common causes is dangerous or poor road conditions. Dangerous road conditions include potholes, defective guardrails, lack of proper road signs, inadequate road or highway lights, faded lanes or crosswalks, and unsafe curves. These conditions are generally caused by improper design, construction, or maintenance and repair. Regardless of the cause, these accidents can result in significant physical injuries that change your quality of life. As a result, these injuries often result in substantial medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. The experienced attorneys at Slatter Law Firm will aggressively fight to recover the maximum compensation for your injuries.

There are numerous unsafe road conditions that cause accidents. Below is a description of the most common causes.

Improperly maintained crosswalks

Crosswalks are a marked portion of a road where pedestrians have the right to cross the street. Crosswalks that are not located at a signalized intersection pose a greater risk of a pedestrian accident. This risk is substantially greater when the lines of the crosswalk are faded, making it more difficult for a driver to identify the crosswalk and slow down to avoid hitting a pedestrian.

Potholes

Large potholes and cracks in the road pose a great risk of an accident. Potholes damage vehicles suspension and shocks. These road conditions also cause the loss of control of a car, which often results in a serious accident.

Defective guard rails

Guardrails serve to prevent accidents by signaling to a driver the course of a road on a dangerous curve. As a result, the driver does not veer off the road. Guardrails are typically found on high bridges and roads, off ramps on highways, and dangerous curves. In an accident involving a guardrail, the guardrail is meant to absorb the vehicle’s impact and slow it down. However, defective guardrails often impale the vehicle, resulting in significant injuries.

Inadequate road signs

Your state or local government is required to warn of road hazards, such as a sharp or unsafe curve. A lack of a warning often results in drivers not slowing down or driving with additional caution on an unsafe curve, which can cause a collision.

Inadequate road lights

Poor visibility is another common cause for accidents. Adequate road lights are necessary to prevent car and pedestrian accidents. A malfunctioning road light can therefore cause a collision. Additionally, a lack of a road light on an unsafe curve can result in a loss of control of a vehicle.

Accidents involving dangerous road conditions are governed by the laws of negligence. The law imposes a duty on property owners to maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition. This duty requires owners to conduct routinely inspections, and repair or properly warn of any dangerous conditions. Generally, roads and highways are owned, possessed, or controlled by the state or local government. However, these public entities may hire contractors for road maintenance. Therefore, potential at-fault persons include the governmental entity and contractors.

In order to establish these persons were at-fault, your experienced accident attorney must show that there was a dangerous road condition; these at-fault persons knew or should have known about this road condition; the at-fault persons failed to fix or properly warn of the condition; and this failure caused your injuries.

These accidents raise complicated legal issues that can be an obstacle to recovering your compensation for your injuries. Therefore, you should hire an experienced accident attorney, who will obtain evidence of these persons’ liability and aggressively fight for the compensation that you deserve.

Contact Us Today

Contact a Los Angeles personal injury attorney today if you or a loved one was involved in an accident involving a dangerous road condition. Slatter Law Firm has been helping individuals injured due to car accidents and slip and falls throughout Los Angeles and Southern California for over four decades. To schedule a free consultation, call our office at (310) 405-0964 or contact us online.