Car Accident Caused By Poor Road Condition

Potholes, faulty design, missing guardrails, erosion, and other such poor road conditions can cause a serious car accident. Proving fault in a car accident caused by a road defect can be complicated. You must prove that the road condition actually caused your injuries or caused damage to your car. You must show that the government agency or company responsible for maintaining the road was negligent in its duty to provide a safe roadway. You must also show that the agency failed in its duty to warn drivers of a potential hazard.

Liability

The city, county, and the state are responsible for proper maintenance of roadways. Sometimes the responsibility may be shared by more than one agency. Therefore, before filing a lawsuit, you must find out which agency was responsible for maintenance of that particular roadway.

How do you prove negligence?

·         You must prove that the agency was negligent in its duty to maintain a safe road.

·         You must show that the agency could have or should have repaired the road, but chose not to do so, or that the agency built the road in a dangerously defective manner.

Proving negligence in a case involving vehicle damage can be difficult. This is because sometimes the damage might not get noticed immediately after the accident, and it may be difficult to retrace a car’s route to show what specifically caused the damage. Under such a circumstance, your testimony will be the only proof of how the damage was caused. The agency can argue that the accident was caused due to poor driving or bad weather.

How do you sue the agency?

Most state and the federal governments cannot be sued. However, there are exceptions. If the agency was negligent in maintaining a roadway, you can sue it.

Another rule that prevents a government agency from being sued is the “statute of limitations.” You must sue the government agency within a given time period. If you fail to do so within the given time frame, a court will not allow you to sue later.

The statute of limitations for injury claims based on poor road conditions stipulates that, typically, any lawsuit on the matter must be filed within a set time period of between six months to two years, depending on the state in which the accident occurred. If you decide to sue, you must notify the responsible agency beforehand the reason for why you are going to sue.