What can a road hazard lawyer do for your case?

If you were in a car accident due to a poorly maintained road or highway, you have the right to sue. With the help of a road hazard attorney, you can seek multiple compensation benefits that will let you recover damages such as:

Pay for any damage to your vehicle.
Cover all your medical expenses.
Cover all of your rehabilitation expenses.
Receive reimbursement for all lost wages.
Be compensated for the emotional and psychological aftermath of the accident (such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder).

However, accidents caused by roads in poor condition are particularly difficult to resolve from a legal standpoint. That’s because the fault usually lies with government agencies or contractors, whose interests are often defended by powerful insurance companies that will seek to dismiss the victim’s claim or pay out as little as possible.

In addition, to win an accident case due to road hazards, it’s necessary to prove conclusively that the cause of the accident was due to the poor condition of the road. This may require a highly specialized technical investigation by experts.

In order to win your case, a personal injury lawyer will take the following actions:

Go to the accident scene with experts from different fields to collect evidence.
Investigate if there are eyewitnesses of the accident and collect their testimonies.
Identify if any cameras recorded the accident and arrange to get the videographic material.
Based on all the evidence gathered, build a solid case and calculate the amount of compensation by taking into account the severity of the injuries and the estimated recovery time.
File the case along with the demanded compensation to the insurance company.
Negotiate with the at-fault party’s insurance company to get a settlement that’s beneficial to the victim.
If a beneficial agreement isn’t reached during negotiations, a lawsuit will be filed in court in order to win the case at trial.

Did you or a loved one get into a car accident due to poor road conditions? At George Salinas Injury Lawyers, we have extensive experience winning cases like yours. What’s more, we’re part of the Hispanic community in Texas. Call us at 210-225-0909 or fill out this form to schedule a free consultation.

Our Texas road hazard lawyers are ready to examine your case and work to get you compensation to help rebuild your life alongside your family and without financial worries.

What are the most common road hazards or defects?

Often damage to roads and highways comes from natural events, such as erosion, where water or wind causes the surface to wear away. When this happens, the authorities responsible for that road have the obligation to provide adequate maintenance.

If they fail to do so and the lack of maintenance causes damage to get worse and ends up causing an accident, they’re legally responsible for the accident and must compensate the victim.

Sometimes the road hazard doesn’t lie in the maintenance, but the design or lack of adequate signage for safe travel. In these cases, the authorities in charge of them are also responsible for any accident and are obliged to compensate victims.

In order to keep drivers alert, here are the most common hazards or defects that impact roads and highways in the United States:

1. Uneven asphalt

The safety of a road begins with the asphalt: it must be even, with the same level across its surface. When a stretch of asphalt becomes uneven (no matter how slight), it can cause a driver to lose some control of the vehicle and cause an accident. Often this results in going off the road and hitting an object (thus becoming a danger to pedestrians) or hitting a nearby vehicle.

2. Faulty road design

The design of a road must guarantee the safety of drivers at all times. In other words: all road layouts must be designed in such a way that they don’t pose a risk to the vehicles. Road design hazards may include steep descents, sharp curves that arise abruptly or unclear intersections.

3. Confusing signage or lack of signage

Clear signage plays an essential role in road safety. Announcing a dangerous curve in advance, clearly establishing speed limits or indicating how far to a service area gives drivers indications to help them stay calm and anticipate events. Likewise, when repair work is being carried out on or near the road, it’s necessary to have clear signage.

4. Poor drainage

When drainage is in poor condition, it can cause leaks that lead to wet and slippery roads. However, the greatest danger is a phenomenon known as “black ice,” which occurs when water freezes and creates an invisible layer of ice on the asphalt, causing vehicles to skid.

5. Potholes

Potholes are small holes in the asphalt formed by changes in temperature or high traffic density. When they’re not maintained, their size increases until they deepen even further and become a road hazard. If a car falls into them, it can flatten the tire. Or, if the driver swerves to avoid the pothole, they may hit nearby vehicles.

Statistics on traffic accidents

According to the latest report by the Texas Department of Transportation:

4,480 people died on the state’s highways.
1,522 of these people were killed due to speeding.
1,219 of these people died because they weren’t wearing seat belts.

Although the report doesn’t specify exactly how many of these accidents were caused by poor road conditions, the non-profit TRIP conducted an investigation into the safety of U.S. roads and determined the following:

Approximately 40% of the nation’s major highways are in poor or mediocre condition.
Drivers spend a total of $141 million a year on repairs due to driving on bad roads, including tire wear, additional repairs and/or extra gas consumption.

How much does it cost to hire a road hazard lawyer?

Many clients are under the impression that hiring a road hazard lawyer can be very expensive and isn’t worth the cost of working with a law firm.

However, this isn’t true. If you wish to hire an attorney from George Salinas Injury Lawyers, you won’t pay anything out of pocket, thanks to a payment scheme called “contingency fees” where:

The client never pays out of pocket.
Our lawyers handle the case using our own resources.
Only if we win the case will our lawyers receive a small percentage of the final compensation that the client receives.

Why are our car accident lawyers at George Salinas Accident Attorneys your best option?

At George Salinas Injury Lawyers, we have extensive experience in winning car accident cases and have earned ample compensation for our clients to rebuild their lives alongside their families and with financial peace of mind.

In addition to legal excellence, we’re proud to be part of the Hispanic community in Texas. Our work is defined by our warm, empathetic and Spanish-speaking lawyers and staff.

Did you or a loved one get into a traffic accident due to poor road conditions? Call us at 210-225-0909 or fill out this form to schedule a free consultation. Our road hazard attorneys are ready to examine your case and work to get you compensation.

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