If you hit a giant pothole on your way to work, causing you to wreck your car, are you responsible for the accident and your injuries? While you may not realize it, other parties might’ve been involved in your single-vehicle accident, and you could have grounds for a lawsuit.
If you’re asking, “Can I sue for accidents due to poor road conditions?” the answer is more complex than you might realize. Anything involving government liability introduces a slew of hard-to-navigate legal requirements, but that doesn’t mean you can’t seek compensation as a victim. Poor road conditions frequently lead to accidents and potential injuries, so you must know your rights if you’ve been affected by negligent road maintenance.
What Types of Road Defects Cause Accidents?
As a driver, you want to trust that the road you’re using is safe to drive on, especially when operating at high speeds, in the dark, or in poor weather. Roads can become severely hazardous for drivers without proper maintenance, prompt repairs, or well-thought-out designs. The following defects can cause vehicle accidents:
- Potholes: A pothole is a cracked depression in pavement that can catch your tire, puncturing it or causing you to swerve. Potholes might form suddenly from freeze-thaw cycles or worsen over time. Government entities have a responsibility to repair dangerous potholes in a reasonable amount of time.
- Uneven surfaces: Uneven surfaces often arise during construction or road repairs, causing lanes to have significantly higher or rougher sections of asphalt than other areas. Uneven surfaces can throw motorcycles off their course, or they might make full-size vehicles swerve into other lanes.
- Poor signage: Road signage should indicate everything from speed limits and merging lanes to hazardous road conditions. When roads lack proper signage, drivers may not know when to change lanes or when to yield to oncoming traffic. Missing or unclear signage can cause many types of accidents.
- Design defects: Poor road conditions can also include design issues, such as sharp turns, confusing lane merges, or steep inclines. Poorly designed roads can create unnecessary hazards for drivers.
Who Is Responsible for Maintaining Road Conditions, and How Do You Determine Liability?
“Can I sue for accidents due to poor road conditions?” Yes, but who is responsible?
Commonly responsible parties for these types of accidents include the following:
- Federal, state, or local governments responsible for road maintenance
- A private company that the government hired to work on the road
- A private landowner, if the accident happened on a private road
- A product manufacturer, if an item, like faulty guardrails, caused the accident
In many poor road condition accidents, a government entity will be the primary liable party as the chain of causation typically leads back to the agency responsible for road conditions. To determine liability, you must establish negligence. Negligence involves locating a duty and breach of care.
For example, if your accident involved a pothole, you might determine that your state government was responsible for maintaining that road, meaning the agency owed a duty of care. The state government breached the duty of care by failing to repair the pothole in a reasonable amount of time, causing your accident and your injuries.
Challenges That Arise When Suing a Government Entity: Looking at Government Immunity
Suing the government presents unique legal challenges. While government agencies can often afford to pay out hefty settlements, such settlements come from taxpayer dollars. Because of this and other complications, governments enjoy “sovereign immunity,” which complicates the claims process for public entities.
“Can I sue for accidents due to poor road conditions?” Yes, but the process comes with numerous strict requirements. Here’s what you need to know about government immunity and its exceptions in New Jersey:
- You can make a claim under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act if you were injured in a dangerous condition on public property.
- Under NJTCA, the government must have been notified of the condition but failed to resolve it.
- You have 90 days to submit the NJTCA claim.
- If the claim is denied, you have another 90 days to submit a letter of notice to the Office of Claims.
- From this point, you must wait six months before you can file a lawsuit.
Government lawsuits come with additional restrictions beyond this point as well. Many states restrict victims from seeking punitive damages or damages beyond a certain threshold. Your attorney can help you understand your rights.
Steps To Take If You’ve Been Injured Due to Poor Road Conditions
“Can I sue for accidents due to poor road conditions?” Yes, but if you want to build a strong case, you must take the appropriate steps. Here are the immediate actions you should take:
- Call the police and file a report.
- Document the accident by taking photos of the road damage, nearby road conditions, your injuries, and any other relevant details.
- Gather nearby witness statements or contact information.
- Seek medical treatment and keep all documentation relating to your injuries.
- Avoid releasing specific details to your insurer until you’ve consulted an attorney.
- Consult a personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
How To File a Claim or Lawsuit for Poor Road Conditions
To file a claim or lawsuit for poor road conditions, you first need to file a Notice of Claim with your municipality within 90 days. This notice will include details about the accident, including when and where it occurred, your damages, your injuries, and more. Next, you will have 90 days to file an administrative claim with the Office of Claims.
If you cannot settle after submitting either of these claims, you may submit a lawsuit after six months. The statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits is typically two years, but various exceptions may apply.
You usually need an abundance of evidence to prove government liability cases, including accident reports, photographs documenting road damage, vehicle maintenance records, medical expenses, treatment records, and professional testimonies. A personal injury attorney can help you gather these items.
Preparing for a Long Road Ahead: The Challenges and Obstacles That Come With Suing for Poor Road Conditions
“Can I sue for accidents due to poor road conditions?” Yes, but you will likely face a few hurdles.
You must navigate strong defenses from insurers or litigation teams that will do everything in their power to eliminate government liability. For example, insurers may argue that the tread on your tire or the weather caused your accident rather than the road conditions. Combatting such arguments requires ample evidence and legal knowledge.
All governments have sovereign immunity against monetary damages, meaning you must file claims on their terms. You may need to adhere to strict deadlines or give appropriate notice just to have a valid claim.
You must also prove direct causation between the road conditions and your accident. This involves providing compelling evidence that ties your accident directly to the road issues and no other factors. Video footage and photo evidence prove essential in this task, along with witness testimonies.
Why You Must Consult a Personal Injury Attorney
Poor road condition lawsuits can be successful with the right legal representation. By working with an attorney experienced in cases involving government liability, you can accurately establish liability, collect strong evidence, and seek compensation for your losses. Legal action allows those injured by inadequate road maintenance to seek accountability, but pursuing this course requires support from a knowledgeable legal team.
Call Sadaka Law Today
“Can I sue for accidents due to poor road conditions?” Yes, but the process comes with many challenges, so you need to work with an experienced lawyer. If you were injured in a poor road condition accident, call Sadaka Law in New Jersey today at (800) 810-3457 to speak with one of our experienced personal injury attorneys.
