Hundreds of thousands of drivers get in their cars and take to the roads in Maricopa County every day. Few of them wonder whether their safety will be adversely affected by roads that are poorly designed or badly maintained, but unfortunately, car accidents happen every year due to these exact conditions.
Pot holes, debris, poorly done construction work, and design flaws are some of the many ways that a road, highway, or street can be blamed for a collision. In some cases, the road’s poor condition contributes to a crash while in others, the road causes the crash entirely.
A recent incident in Mesa on U.S. 60 is bringing renewed attention to the safety of roads and highways in Maricopa County as several motorists found themselves suffering from damages due to faulty conditions. Over the weekend, the Arizona Department of Transportation closed the HOV and two to three leftmost lanes of eastbound traffic due to issues with the road surface. The Arizona Department of Public Safety reported that tension joints from the road were sticking up through the road’s surface, contacting passing vehicles and causing them damage. Some collisions were reported and were blamed on the tension joint failures.
Roads are designed to take a beating in Arizona. Not only do they have to withstand heavy traffic loads but they also must hold up to a host of weather conditions, including the extreme heat that plagues the Valley in the summer. If roads are not designed properly or if faulty components are used in the creation or maintenance of a road, it is much more likely that a failure of some type will happen and that unsuspecting drivers will suffer the consequences.
When this happens, a collision cannot be undone but victims who are injured may be entitled to seek relief. A typical claim for personal injuries brought against a city, municipality, the State of Arizona, or other entity responsible for a road’s faulty condition can enable a victim to recover for any damages she sustained including but not limited to medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and the permanency of any harm.
These claims often are very complex and involve multiple parties, including multiple defendants. It can take an investigation to uncover who did the repair work and what went wrong before a victim can see relief. For that reason and others, many who are hurt choose to work with a personal injury attorney so that their rights can be protected while ensuring that they are following the legal process.
Note that though you may be able to seek help for your injuries, you will be barred from doing so if you fail to act within a time period established by law, commonly known as a statute of limitations. As the statute can vary depending on who is involved in and responsible for a car accident, victims should not delay in pursuing a case following a crash if they want help.
Prior Blog Entry:
Common Neck Injuries after a Phoenix Car Accident, Phoenix Injury Lawyer Blog, published October 26, 2016.
Resource:
Road damage closes lanes on U.S. 60 in Mesa, by Yihyun Jeong, The Republic, azcentral.com, published October 30, 2016.