In California, 26.6% of roads are in poor condition. Poor road conditions can cause accidents or otherwise lead to serious injury.
An experienced San Bernardino car accident lawyer at LA Century Law explains how poor road conditions can lead to an accident and how you may have a claim for compensation.
Like other entities or individuals, the city and/or government entities owe duties to people on the road. This would include having safe and operable roads for drivers.
How Dangerous Road Conditions Lead to Accidents
Dangerous road conditions may lead to accidents in any number of ways.
- The vehicle may behave unexpectedly.
- A vehicle may become damaged and uncontrollable.
- Drivers may not be able to see or identify hazards.
- Instructions for traffic flow may not be clear.
- Slope or grading of the road may make a vehicle more likely to sway, drift, or tip.
- Objects being towed and trailers may become loose or sway.
- Poor weather may compound dangers and risks, leading to hydroplaning or poor visibility.
- An uneven or narrow shoulder can prevent a driver from stopping safely.
Common Types of Hazardous Road Conditions in California
- Potholes
- Places where the road is washed away
- Deteriorated road
- Grading or slope that is unsafe
- Visibility issues
- Road surface that is slippery or unpredictable
- Narrow lanes or shoulders
- Malfunctioning traffic signals
- Traffic signs, including stop signs, that are damaged or non-operational
- Unclear traffic flow instructions
Who Is Liable for Accidents Caused by Poor Road Maintenance?
Who is liable for accidents caused by poor road maintenance depends on who is responsible for the road. The federal, state, or local authority tasked with designing and maintaining the road may have liability. There may also be private parties who are involved in road construction or maintenance.
Additional factors and other wrongful acts may impact fault. Determining liability for an accident caused by road maintenance requires an investigation of the factors that contributed to the claim.
What makes the government liable for accidents due to poor road conditions?
California Government Code 815.2 says that a public entity is liable if the following holds:
- Injury
- Proximately Caused by
- An act or omission
- An employee of the public entity
- Within the scope of their employment
- If the act would otherwise create liability against the person
Since negligence is a standard that creates liability, negligence is often the standard used for liability against a government entity.
Road condition and car accident claims
California has a jury instruction that explains the elements of a claim based on dangerous conditions on public property.
- The defense owned or controlled the property.
- There was a dangerous condition.
- The dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of that kind of injury.
- Employee negligence or wrongful conduct occurred, within the scope of employment, OR the dangerous condition existed long enough to have time to address it.
- The victim was hurt.
- The dangerous condition was a substantial factor in causing harm.
See California Civil Jury Instruction No. 1100—Dangerous Condition on Public Property.
Proving a substantial factor
The dangerous condition must be a substantial factor in causing the harm. The word substantial is significant. There can be other factors that were involved, such as the actions of drivers. The dangerous condition must only be a substantial factor. However, it is insufficient for the dangerous road condition to be slight or speculative.
How To Document Road Hazards After a Crash
An important part of investigating car accidents due to poor road conditions in California is documenting hazards. This may be done by gathering the facts, including pictures of the road and records of what actions were taken for design and maintenance. It may mean working with experts to analyze a crash and link it to the dangerous condition. Documenting the hazard will likely require a mix of facts about the accident and technical information.
Filing a Claim Against a Government Entity in California
Many car accident claims due to poor road conditions in California are against government entities—local, state, and federal. Claims against government entities follow a unique procedure. Generally, the California Tort Claims Act (CTCA), also called the Government Claims Act, applies (California Government Code § 810-996.6). Federal claims follow the Federal Tort Claims Act.
You must give notice of your intent to file a claim. This allows the government to investigate and respond. For CTCA cases, the timeline is very short—you must give your notice within six months of the accident or injury. If the government rejects or denies the claim within 45 days, you have six months to file the case in court. If they don’t respond or if they accept the claim, you have two years to file the case.
Proving liability is the same as in other negligent cases, except that factually, a government defendant may be different than a typical situation with a private party defendant. You may have an attorney represent you in filing your notice and bringing your legal claim.
Challenges in Proving Fault for Road Condition Accidents
Challenges in proving fault for road condition accidents include the following:
- Causes of fault may be subtle and uncommon, compared to routine car accidents.
- Shared fault due to driver actions is often present.
- There is a need for experts to inspect, perform reconstruction, and explain the scientific and engineering aspects of the case.
- Weather or environmental conditions may change after the accident, making it harder to preserve the necessary evidence.
- There may be a general bias in favor of units of government.
- Fault may be based on a lack of action, such as allowing danger to persist.
Our lawyers identify challenges that may be present in your case and work to build the evidence and the strengths of your case.
Evidence That Strengthens Your Road Condition Claim
- Investigating the engineering and design of the road
- Talking to witnesses who were a part of the road construction
- Investigating similar accidents in that location
- Accident reconstruction
- Information about how environmental factors may have impacted road conditions
- Use of the discovery process, including interrogatories and admissions
- Pursuing all contributing causes of the accident
Contact an Experienced San Bernardino Car Accident Lawyer
Have you been in an accident? Were poor road conditions a factor? Contact an experienced San Bernardino car accident lawyer at LA Century Law. We can help you with a claim for car accidents due to poor road conditions in California. Call or message us now.