New York City Dangerous Roadway Accident Attorneys
Legal Help for People Injured on Dangerous New York City Streets
Collisions can happen for a lot of reasons, but when we get into our cars, we expect the roads themselves will be reasonably safe. Sadly, crashes can happen due to unsafe designs or poor maintenance on public roads. It is one thing to point to an intoxicated driver who is to blame for an accident, but who is to blame when a crash happens because of a bad road?
In those cases, the people responsible for designing, building, and maintaining the roads can be held accountable. This usually means bringing a civil lawsuit against a city or state government agency, which can be more difficult than a private claim. Having an experienced NYC car accident attorney to represent you is important, but even more so when you are going up against the government. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident on a dangerous New York City roadway, call Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP, at (212) 986-7353 for a free consultation.
What Is a Dangerous Roadway Claim?
Immediately following a car accident, the cause of the collision might not be pressing to you – you’re probably more worried about the well-being of your loved ones and damage to your vehicle. But when the dust settles and you’re wondering what to do next, the cause of a collision is vital to who pays the bills. Sometimes, you can point to the negligence of another driver, but other times, the situation can be more complex; for example, if it was a single-car accident.
A dangerous roadway claim is one in which you and your lawyer argue that the cause of your wreck was the road itself. In this type of case, you have to prove that the design, construction, or maintenance of the road was in some way negligent and created a dangerous situation. But proving this is not as easy as it seems, since certain rules within construction codes are designed to protect builders against lawsuits.
What Causes These Accidents?
Modern roads are designed by engineers who study how vehicles behave on different surfaces, moving at various angles and taking different curves, and design roads to be as safe as possible. At least, that’s how it is supposed to work.
Sometimes the design and construction of a road can go to the lowest bidder, who might not perform the task properly. Or perhaps the engineer in charge of a road design notices a dangerous issue but is ignored because it would be too expensive to change things once it’s already under construction. Other times, proper maintenance is not performed, so a road that might have started off safe becomes dangerous. All of these things can lead to serious accidents.
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A New York dangerous roadway case is complicated. "Design immunity" is an affirmative defense the defendants can make: if certain standards of reasonableness are met, they are immune to a lawsuit. To get around this, it can be argued the case is an exception by showing negligence occurred in various ways. Does that sound complicated? It is, which is why a top NYC road hazard accident lawyer is so important.
You should never try to handle a civil lawsuit by yourself, especially one involving a public entity like the state or city government. Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP, understands how building codes work and can help counter the defenses available against such a lawsuit. If you have been in an accident due to a dangerous road, call us right away at (212) 986-7353 because your time to file a claim against the government is very limited.
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