Negligent Road Design

When thinking about the causes of car accidents, most often a motorist's careless actions like distracted driving or speeding come to mind. However, sometimes, collisions result from a road's dangerous condition, which exists due to negligent road design. A governmental entity, like a state or county, could be responsible for negligently designing a road or highway. Responsibility could also lie with a contractor or other private party. Because of the uncertainty in the immediate aftermath of a motor vehicle accident, it is important to consult a knowledgeable Miami car accident lawyer as soon as possible.

At our Law Offices of Robert Dixon, we can help you determine which factors contributed to causing your collision and injuries. Accidents caused by negligent road design may leave victims with months, years, or even a lifetime of needing to cope with significant injuries, and our firm is dedicated to ensuring that victims receive the financial compensation to which they are entitled from those liable for their harm. We provide committed legal representation to clients throughout Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties, as well as elsewhere in South Florida, in legal claims arising out of injuries that resulted from a negligent road design.

An accident caused by a negligent road design can leave a victim with injuries such as broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, or spinal cord damage, and they may even be fatal, depending on the circumstances. There are several indicators of a negligently designed road. Some common dangerous conditions caused by negligent design include:

• Unsafe intersections, which may include inaccurately timed traffic signals, malfunctioning lights, sharp turns, or lanes that are too narrow.
• Not enough pedestrian crosswalks or other safety precautions.
• Poor shoulder or exit ramp design, when drivers do not have enough room to exit a highway or road.
• Lack of proper construction or road materials used, leading to potholes or other decay of road conditions.
• Road hazards, such as fallen landscaping that obstructs roadways.

An independent contractor or design company may be responsible for negligent road design, but it is often a governmental entity that is liable for its roads and the dangerous conditions that occur on them. Filing a personal injury case against a city or county is more complicated than bringing a case against a private party, since there are certain immunities that may be in place barring such an action. Your attorney may need to devise a strategy to argue why immunity should not apply in the situation. However, a municipality that has failed to remedy a negligently designed roadway, despite having known of the danger, can and should be held accountable for a victim's injuries arising from a crash.

Establishing that there was a design defect that led to an unsafe condition does not necessarily require a showing that there is a physical abnormality. Dangers can exist due to the underlying blueprint used to construct the road or due to a structural issue. Victims injured in an accident caused by negligent road design may be entitled to damages for past and future medical costs, property loss, loss of earnings, and diminished earning capacity, as well as compensation for pain and suffering.

Determining whether there was fault in a road's design that led to a dangerous condition, and thus a serious car accident, involves gathering and examining very distinctive forms of evidence, which may include city plans, documents regarding construction, and maintenance records. The Miami attorneys at our Law Offices of Robert Dixon have experience resolving these complicated cases and are committed to ensuring that victims receive the compensation necessary to aid in their recovery. If you have been injured in an accident that you believe was caused by negligent road design, call 877.499.4878 or contact us online to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. We also represent victims in West Palm Beach, and other South Florida cities.