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What Road Construction Defects Cause Injuries?
If you are injured in a traffic accident because the street or highway was improperly designed or improperly maintained, you have the right to seek compensation for your injury. To recover that compensation, you need to be represented by a Phoenix highway accident attorney.
What types of road and highway design defects can lead to serious injuries? Under Arizona law, what steps will you need to take if you are injured in an accident because the street or highway had a design defect? When should you contact a Phoenix highway accident lawyer?
If you continue to read this brief explanation of the highway defects that can lead to serious injuries, you will find the answers you need.
What Types of Defects are Found on Arizona’s Streets and Highways?
When there is a defect in the design of a road or highway, governments and their engineer, designers and other parties responsible for defective road or highway construction may be held liable for accidents, injuries, and deaths that are the result of that defective construction. Common defects include:
- hazardous intersections
- incorrect signage or a lack of signage
- abrupt shoulder drop-offs
- uneven pavement
- a lack of guardrails
- a lack of median barriers
- inadequate drainage
When a roadway has not been adequately maintained, the dangers may lead to wreckage or debris in the roadway, dead animals, fallen trees, lost cargo, or other items. Potholes are typically caused by weather and inadequate road maintenance over an extended period of time.
When Defective Street and Highway Designs Cause Injuries
Poor road and highway conditions – and the government departments and agencies that are responsible for those conditions – may be responsible when:
- Potholes are not repaired.
- Curves are not properly graded.
- Signage is obscured for any reason.
- Signs, fences, or structures are too close to the street or highway.
Government agencies and entities – federal, state, county, and cities – have the ultimate responsibility for maintaining almost all of the streets and highways in Arizona.
What Injuries Are Commonly Sustained in Highway Accidents?
You could be injured because of a neglected pothole, a faulty traffic signal, a defective highway design, or inadequate road or highway maintenance. The government’s negligence in these cases may cause catastrophic or disabling injuries including but not limited to head and brain injuries, facial lacerations, back and neck injuries, chest and abdominal injuries, and leg and knee injuries.
Serious spinal cord injuries are typically caused by an impact or blow to the spine that fractures, crushes, compresses, or dislocates one or more vertebrae. Spinal cord injuries may cause damage to the vertebrae, the spinal ligaments, or the spinal cord itself.
A jolt or a blow to the skull that impairs natural brain functions may cause a concussion and traumatic brain injury. After any highway accident, if someone is injured, immediately seeking or summoning medical assistance must be an absolute priority.
Who Pays Injury Claims for “Defective Highway” Accidents?
While a number of states are “no-fault” auto insurance states, Arizona is an “at-fault state” for recovering compensation, so proving another party’s liability for an accident and injury – and recovering compensation from the liable party or parties – is the goal of a personal injury claim.
If you are injured in Arizona because of a defective road or highway design, or because of inadequate road or highway maintenance, you are entitled by law to recover compensation for your medical expenses, your lost wages, projected future lost wages, and related damages.
What Steps Will Your Attorney Take?
Everything depends on why and how the accident occurred. A Phoenix highway accident lawyer will review the details of the accident, identify the at-fault party, obtain the evidence that a party was negligent, and show how that party’s negligence was a direct cause of your personal injury.
If necessary, your attorney will hire experts such as an accident reconstructionist, traffic engineer, human factor expert and other experts to support your claim.
Is There a Deadline for Taking Legal Action?
If the highway or street design itself – or inadequate street maintenance – is the cause of your injuries in an accident, take your case to a Phoenix highway accident attorney immediately. Your attorney will review the details of your accident and provide honest, personalized legal advice.
If you and your highway accident attorney agree to move ahead with a personal injury claim against a government department or agency, the right attorney will fight aggressively and effectively to hold the responsible government entity accountable.
However, you must take action as quickly as possible. You must bring your case to an attorney before the evidence deteriorates or disappears and before the recollections of the witnesses begin to fade.
In Arizona, the deadline for filing an injury claim against a government entity is 180 days from the date of the accident. If you do not file a proper notice of claim within 180 days from the accident, your claim against every governmental entity is lost. Time is of the essence.
Meet the Attorneys at Moore Injury Law
The attorneys at Moore Injury Law have decades of personal injury experience. We have prevailed – in both out-of-court negotiations and at personal injury trials – on behalf of the injured victims of highway defect cases in the Phoenix area and across the state.
At Moore Injury Law we will evaluate your defective road design claim without cost or obligation. If we move forward with your claim, you will owe no attorney fees or other costs to Moore Injury Law until and unless we recover the compensation – you need and deserve.
If you’ve been injured because of poor road maintenance or because of a defective highway or street design in the Phoenix area – or if you’re not sure and you need some questions answered – call Moore Injury Law at 602-780-1616, and promptly schedule your free case evaluation.
