Road debris is a common problem for drivers. Whether road debris is intentional, accidental, or from a natural disaster, it can cause serious injuries and fatalities. It is a traffic hazard that causes 25,000 crashes a year nationwide, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Knowing your rights as someone who has experienced injuries from road debris can help you recover damages.
What is Road Debris?
Road debris is a road hazard on or near a road surface. It can be anything that creates hazards to safe driving and includes things such as objects that have fallen off vehicles, spilled liquids, collisions, or garbage discarded on the road. Weather such as storms can deposit road debris such as downed trees, electrical wires, or other hazardous objects. Debris is hazardous because it can in one place and, in a moment, become airborne toward the windshield.
Construction debris is a common source of road debris. Construction debris can include nails and screws, wood or steel, loose gravel or rocks, equipment, signs, and vehicles. While drivers may be aware of these hazards near a construction site, workers can sometimes be careless with construction equipment and lose control of debris that will be found elsewhere.
Another source of road debris is car accidents. Cars that are destroyed during accidents can leave dangerous wreckage in the path. A driver, while in a vehicle, may have to swerve to avoid the debris and this makes further accidents more likely for other drivers. Trash, intentionally or unintentionally discarded, can be hazardous if it becomes airborne or is large.
Debris Liability
Debris liability can have several factors. Failure to secure trucking loads or being careless with construction equipment can be liabilities for either private companies or public municipalities. For example, if a trucker does not securely close the back of a vehicle and debris injures or kills another driver or passengers, both the trucker and the company face liabilities for the accident, injuries, or fatalities. Trucking or other vehicles with malfunctions that deposit oil or other car fluids on the road may be liable for debris accidents due to negligent lack of vehicle maintenance.
If a construction crew working for a state or a city is careless with debris, liabilities may rest with the construction crew, the state, or the city. Municipalities or states that do not remove debris from a natural disaster, such as a storm that has downed trees and wires, may be liable for not responding to emergencies in a competent and timely manner and face negligence liabilities.
The lawyers at The Husband & Wife Law Team/Breyer Law Offices, P.C. will help you if you or a loved one has suffered injuries in a road debris accident. Please contact us.