Roadside Accident Due To Poor Road Conditions: Who Can Be Held Liable?*

Auto accidents contribute to serious injuries and fatalities each year, and among the causes for these accidents is poor road conditions. It is poor road conditions that require a claim against a public official if they are responsible for maintaining the roadways. An exception is when the roadway is privately owned by a landowner, and the owner is responsible for maintaining the road. Whenever poor road conditions contribute to an auto accident, the victim or their representative must obtain evidence of these conditions to substantiate their claim in a lawsuit. After the road conditions are evaluated, they must work diligently to find out who is accountable for the conditions and the auto accident itself. Reviewing auto accident laws shows claimants the identity of the defendant in their legal claims.

Assessing the Poor Road Conditions

The most common road conditions that contribute to auto accidents are potholes, exposed rebar, cracks in the road, and uneven road surfaces. When assessing the road conditions that caused the accident, it is imperative to determine first what condition caused the accident and who caused it.

Road construction signs must be visible at any time that repair services are repaving or completing any type of road construction. The signs must begin at least 1,500 feet from the worksite. If workers are present, the signs must warn oncoming vehicles so they can slow down in enough time to avoid collisions with the workers. The construction company must use pilot cars and on-site workers to direct traffic away from the lane under construction. You can use traffic cones, also known as parking cones to block off lanes and redirect traffic. If the workers have completed work for the day, there must be signs that indicate if any lanes are uneven that may cause an accident. You want to avoid this because victims of auto accidents caused by poor road conditions often contact an abogado de accidente for advice and may possibly sue you.

Who Was the Victim?

The identity of the victim plays a significant role in an auto accident, and additional laws may apply to the accident. For example, if a pedestrian or construction worker was injured, the auto driver that collided with the individual could be held accountable and prove at fault for the accident. A driver or passenger in a motor vehicle may seek compensation from the party that hit them. However, if the accident was caused by the road conditions and no other reason, anyone involved in the accident may have a claim against the state or county official that was responsible for managing the road conditions.

Who is Responsible for the Road?

A public roadway is managed according to the contract secured by the state or county. First, the type of roadway dictates who must maintain the road. If it is a state highway, the state road commissioner is responsible for maintaining the roadways and eliminating any poor road conditions that could contribute to a collision. County roads are managed by the county road commissioner. Typically, these officials enter into contracts with roadway construction companies that complete repairs and repave the roadways at least once a year. However, this doesn’t eliminate the blame for a road commissioner.

In more rural areas where there are country roads, the mayor of a small town is responsible for directing workers to complete road repairs. If an accident happens because of a failure to maintain the road, the mayor could face the liability of the collision and all costs related to it. However, the mayor would be responsible for roads that are within the city limits, and they would not be held responsible for any county or state roads that run through their city or town.

If an auto accident victim needs to start a legal claim for their injuries and financial losses, they must start by identifying the roadway and determining what official was responsible for maintaining these roadways and mitigating risks to local residents. They should also determine if any citizens have filed reports with the accountable party about the dangerous road conditions. In these cases, the defendant could argue that they weren’t aware of the poor road conditions, but if multiple citizens have filed reports about the road conditions there are public records of these complaints.

Did Another Party Commit a Traffic Violation?

Comparative fault rulings are often introduced to discredit an auto accident claim. The ruling indicates that the victim committed a moving violation that contributed to the accident. If the court proves that the auto accident victim committed a moving violation, their monetary claim is reduced according to the percentage applied for each moving violation they committed. If the percentage is greater than 50%, the victim will not receive any monetary awards in a lawsuit.

When it comes to filing claims against public officials, they will pull out all the stops to discredit the claim and avoid a payout. This may include acquiring footage from street cameras of the accident. An auto accident attorney can file a motion to get the footage and have it analyzed for the case.

Is There a Statute of Limitations?

The statute of limitations for filing a legal claim against a public official in Texas is two years. This means the claimant must start their legal claim before the second anniversary of their auto accident. If they do not start their claim before the second anniversary, the claimant forfeits all rights to seek compensation for their medical expenses, lost wages, and auto repair expenses. Any claim filed after the statute runs out will be thrown out of court.

Auto accidents are investigated by law enforcement after the accident is reported. The law enforcement officers complete an accident report, and all parties involved must report the accident to their insurer. However, when the cause of the accident is poor road conditions, the defendant in the legal claim is not other drivers, but it is the public official that is responsible for maintaining safer road conditions for drivers. A failure to provide safe roadways presents the public official with liabilities for each individual that sustained injuries and auto repair expenses. Reviewing auto accident laws guides claimants through a legal claim for poor road conditions.