Sometimes an accident can happen as a result of our own fault or carelessness. Other times, unsafe road conditions or defectively designed or maintained roads can cause or contribute to cause an accident. Highways and roadways must be designed to stringent specifications. Governments have an obligation to provide safely designed, built, and maintained roads, highways, and intersections. Safety requirements extend to signs, pavement paintings and markings, and properly maintained road surfaces.
Most of the time, though, governments do not build and maintain roads, contractors do. Thus, in many situations, engineers and architects may be liable for defective design of a road or bridge. Sometimes construction companies falsify quality tests for materials and use sub-standard materials, resulting in a dangerous defect.
If you are involved in an accident involving a defective roadway, it is important to consult a Merrillville defective roadway attorney who can help investigate the situation to determine who is at fault. This investigation should be done soon after a crash to collect evidence before defects are corrected. Trees that obstructed a view can be trimmed, missing signs can be replaced, and so the sooner a crash is investigated after it happens, the better the chance that evidence will not be hidden or lost.
The type of conditions that we look for in these type of cases include blocked or missing signs, improperly marked construction areas, missing or inadequate guardrails, bridge failures, and potholes and road surface bumps that can interfere with vehicle steering and stability, not just for cars, but for motorcycles, bicycles, buses and trucks.
Road defect cases, where a negligent road design contributes to a crash, are similar to condition related defect cases where snow and ice are left to accumulate to cause very serious conditions. Snow and ice related cases may be very difficult to prove, but if a serious injury is involved, contacting a car accident attorney and taking the time to investigate the conditional related cause of a collision is necessary, and can help prevent future injuries to others in the community.