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Who is liable for a car accident caused by poor road conditions? Car accident attorney in Annapolis

Written by
ruxandra
June 17th, 2016

Poor road conditions like erosion, missing guardrails, potholes or faulty designs may cause serious car damage and even injuries and represent a real danger for unwary drivers. Even so, it may prove complicated to sue for the resulting injuries or serious car damage. You can ask your car accident attorney from Annapolis to find out who is liable for your accident. If poor road conditions caused the car accident, it is possible for the government or the agency who is managing the road to be liable for all the damages.

Car injury compensation in Annapolis

A person who was involved in a car accident which resulted from poor road conditions has to prove that the car accident was caused by the road conditions. They must also reveal that the company or agency responsible for the road maintenance was negligent in providing a safe roadway (or failed to warn all drivers of potential hazards). The last thing that has to be determined is if the liable agency is allowed to be sued and whether not too much time passed since the accident. All these elements are crucial to reach a car injury settlement and receive car injury compensation in Annapolis.

Who is responsible for the road maintenance?

Depending on the road type, they are maintained by states, counties, and cities. It is possible for different maintenance responsibilities to be shared by more governmental agencies. For example, the state might be responsible of repairing potholes, while the city of de-icing and snowplowing the roadways. Your car injury lawyer from Annapolis can help you determine what entity or agency is liable, to ensure you are suing the proper party.

Proving road maintenance negligence

Once your legal adviser determines the party responsible for the road condition that caused your accident, they will help you gather the evidence you need to reach a car injury settlement in Annapolis. This means that you will need to prove that the responsible agency was negligent and failed to maintain the road (the agency could and should have repaired the road). For example, if a state decided to cut the funding for road repairs and erosion damaged the road, the state may be liable for all resulting car damages on that road.

Determining the cause

The person involved in the car accident has to prove that poor road conditions were responsible for the car damage or injuries. But this may be more difficult than it sounds. Car damage caused by a road erosion or a pothole might not be noticed right away after the accident as it may be difficult to retrace the car's route. Also, without witnesses or another type of evidence (police reports, photos of the accident, and video of the accident) the plaintiff's testimony might be the only proof of what caused the accident.

In this case, the agency might try to argue that the driver's poor driving skills or the weather were the main factors that caused the accident.For more information about car accidents caused by poor road conditions, you should contact the best car injury layer in Annapolis at (443) 569-3950 or send an email at chris@annapolisaccidentattorney.com.