Road defects in Miami, FL, typically don’t cause as many car accidents as careless or aggressive driving. However, road-related issues can combine with those risky behaviors to lead to collisions. In rare situations, a car may crash solely due to road defects or damage.
If you’ve been in a crash involving a road defect, a knowledgeable Miami car accident lawyer from Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys can help you understand your options for seeking compensation. Contact us today at (305) 916-6455 to schedule a free consultation or keep reading to learn more.
How Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help After a Road Defect Accident in Miami, FL
When you sustain a serious, permanent injury in an auto accident, you need a strong legal team on your side to fight for your rights.
Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys was established to serve people injured in accidents in Miami, Florida. Our attorneys have decades of combined legal experience demanding accountability from negligent actors who cause car wrecks. We’ve successfully recovered millions of dollars for our clients over the years.
Our Miami personal injury lawyers can take the following actions to support your case:
- Listen to your story about how your collision occurred
- Identify all parties who may be liable for your injury-related losses
- File an insurance claim and attempt to resolve it via negotiation
- Pursue a lawsuit if the at-fault party refuses to offer a fair settlement
Road defect crashes often raise questions about government liability. Contact us to schedule a consultation with a Miami car accident attorney and learn more about the process of seeking compensation from a government agency or other liable parties.
How Road Defect Crashes Can Occur in Miami
Flaws in a road’s design or structure can contribute to crashes in a few ways.
First, a road defect might cause a crash directly. For example, a missing stop sign could result in a collision at an uncontrolled intersection when unsuspecting drivers enter it.
Second, a road defect could worsen the outcome of a collision. A driver’s injuries might be worse because a sharp curve had no guardrails, allowing their vehicle to run off the road and roll over.
Third, a road defect might cause a driver to execute an emergency maneuver, such as a sudden stop or swerve. As this happens, they might hit another vehicle or cause a pedestrian accident.
Fourth, a road defect could damage a driver’s vehicle, resulting in a loss of control. For instance, a driver might suffer a tire blowout after running over a pothole. This could cause them to lose control of their vehicle and collide with another road user.
Who Can Be Held Liable for an Accident Caused by a Road Defect?
Liability for car accidents is determined based on negligence. A party acts negligently when it fails to meet the standard of care applicable in a given set of circumstances. More specifically, a party is liable when they fail to exercise the level of caution expected of a reasonably prudent person in the same situation.
Based on this principle, the fault for a crash resulting from a road defect could fall on the following parties:
Drivers
If a driver acts negligently, they may be found liable even when a road defect contributed to the mishap. For example, suppose that a driver was speeding when they hit a pothole. Their vehicle lost contact with the road, causing them to lose control and rear-end the car ahead of them. Liability for the accident may hinge on the driver’s speeding rather than the road defect.
Manufacturers
Manufacturers might be strictly liable for accidents caused by product defects. Imagine a driver who hits a slick patch of sand on the road. As they try to stop, their antilock brakes fail. Even though the sand on the road contributed to the accident, the vehicle manufacturer might be liable for the resulting crash, since their product’s failure directly caused it.
Government Agencies
Government agencies may also be liable for employee negligence under some circumstances.
Ordinarily, governments are immune from legal claims. However, Florida’s Tort Claims Act waives immunity against lawsuits alleging injuries caused by employee negligence.
As such, you might have a valid claim if negligence occurred in any of the following areas:
- Inspection
- Maintenance and repair
- Design
Let’s say a city receives multiple complaints about a missing stop sign but fails to replace the sign within a reasonable time frame. The city may be liable for any accidents caused by the missing signage.
One principle to keep in mind when pursuing a claim against a government entity in Florida is the state’s damages cap. The state usually won’t pay more than $200,000 per person (up to $300,000 per incident) without approval from the state legislature.
Construction Companies
Companies that perform road repair and maintenance as government contractors must act with reasonable competence. If a company’s employees create a road defect, such as a sharp bump or depression in poured concrete, the company may be liable for any crashes the defect causes.
Contact Our Miami Car Accident Lawyers for a Free Consultation
Car accidents involving road defects frequently raise complicated legal and factual issues. Contact Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your accident. Learn more about your legal options when you call our Miami car accident attorneys today.
