Road defects are often overlooked as a cause of motor vehicle accidents in California. Recently in Sacramento, a single-car crash on a notoriously dangerous curve on San Juan Road killed two children and one adult, leaving eight others with serious injuries. According to the Sacramento Bee, at least a dozen crashes have occurred in the same area since 2011, causing one death and 35 injuries.
When a road has a history of crashes, questions arise over whether something is wrong with how it was designed or maintained. Government agencies are responsible for building and keeping roads safe. When a defect causes an accident, injured victims can pursue compensation from the state or local municipality responsible for the road’s upkeep.
Claims against the government can be tricky. The deadline for filing a notice of claim is shorter than a standard personal injury claim. Additionally, cases involving poor road design may require substantial analyses by accident reconstruction experts. If you or a loved one sustained injuries on a dangerous road in Sacramento, a skilled car accident attorney can investigate the scene and build a strong case for you.
The personal injury attorneys at Demas Law Group have decades of experience helping injured people secure the money they need to rebuild their lives. Call or contact us today for a free consultation with a defective road design lawyer in California.
What Is a Defective Roadway?
We trust that the government invests sufficient time and money to build and maintain safe roads. Yet many highways and local roads have defects that put motorists at risk of serious harm. Examples of road defects include:
- Potholes
- Broken or missing guardrails
- Dangerous shoulder dropoffs
- Missing or insufficient signage
- Overgrown vegetation
- Debris and obstructions
- Poorly designed entrance and exit ramps
- Unsafe curves
- Malfunctioning traffic lights
- Missing warning signals and signs
- Standing water due to poor drainage
- Bridge or overpass failures
- Poor lighting
- Missing crosswalks
Defects can result from a flaw in the road’s original design or deterioration from a lack of maintenance. In either situation, the consequences of an accident caused by a road defect can be devastating.
Who is At Fault for a Defective Road Accident?
The California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) can be held accountable for accidents resulting from state highway defects. Liability for crashes on defective city or county roads falls on the local agencies responsible for their maintenance. A knowledgeable auto accident attorney can review the facts of your case and identify who should be held liable for your injuries. Your lawyer can also explain the legal requirements that apply when you bring a claim against a government agency in California.
Common Injuries From Defective Roadways
Crashes caused by road defects result in injuries caused in other types of car accidents, including:
- Broken bones
- Cuts and lacerations
- Torn muscles, tendons, and ligaments
- Concussion and traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Whiplash and other neck injuries
- Back injuries
- Spinal cord injury
- Internal organ damage
- Internal bleeding
- Road rash, if ejected from the vehicle
- Amputation
- Scarring and disfigurement
Defective roadways can be a factor in wrong-way crashes. Poor ramp design, signage, and line striping have led even sober drivers to enter traffic going the wrong direction, contributing to serious collisions.
But how do you know if a road defect caused your accident? In some cases, the dangers of a particular road are evident to anyone who looks, such as a warning sign obscured from view by overgrown branches and shrubs. Other hazards may be less visible to the everyday observer but can be confirmed with analyses performed by engineers, accident reconstruction specialists, and other experts. A lawyer will collect the evidence necessary to build a persuasive claim against the government agency responsible for your injuries.
How to File a CTCA Claim and How It Can Help You
To file a claim against the government in California, you must meet the requirements outlined in the California Tort Claims Act (CTCA). A successful claim can provide you with money to cover losses due to the car accident, such as medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and property damage.
The CTCA law shields public entities from liability except in certain circumstances. If you got hurt in a car accident due to a road defect, you could be eligible to file a CTCA claim, but you must meet specific deadlines and follow strict procedures.
To file a CTCA claim, you must:
- File a notice of claim within six months of the accident or injury
- Provide all details needed to process your claim, including your name, address, the responsible person or entity (if known), when and where the accident occurred, a description of the injury (as far as it is known at the time of filing), and the amount of compensation demanded (if less than $10,000), and how that dollar figure was determined
- Importantly, the claim must contain a factual basis for every legal theory that ultimately will be pursued against the government
If you seek compensation greater than $10,000, you do not need to include an amount in the claim. However, you must indicate whether the claim is a “limited civil case,” which is a case that asks for less than $25,000 in compensation.
Once you file your claim, the government agency has 45 days to respond. It may reject your claim, accept it (wholly or partly), offer a settlement, or request more information and allow you to amend the original claim. If your claim gets rejected, you may opt to file a lawsuit in state court.
At Demas Law Group, we understand that seriously injured accident victims may not know the full extent of their injuries or their long-term impact within six months of an accident. But our attorneys can review your case and come up with a fair estimate of what your case is worth. That way, you fulfill the California filing requirements without risking being underpaid for your losses.
Need a Defective Road Design Lawyer in Sacramento? Contact Demas Law Group Now
Road defect claims are complex personal injury cases. Bringing a claim against a California government entity is a time-sensitive process and requires evidence that can be difficult to obtain independently. Let Demas Law Group help. Our Sacramento car accident lawyers have access to some of the state’s top road engineering and design experts. We can leverage their expertise to build a persuasive case for maximum compensation for you. Call or contact us today to learn more about how we can help. The first consultation is free.
