Poor Road Condition Related Accidents - a Review by Crowson Law

Anchorage, AK, November 28, 2016 (Newswire.com) - A recent study conducted by The Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation analyzed information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and other government agencies and concluded that poor road conditions cause up to forty-two thousand deaths annually.

Such poor road conditions include potholes and iced over stretches. In the event that you were involved in an accident caused by poor road conditions and are looking for Alaska car accident lawyer to assist you, this article may be beneficial.

"There are two ways discovery occurs 1) is by road users who report dangerous road conditions to the appropriate government department and 2) the government itself conducts regular surveys on the roadways; both these methods assist in the process of repairing damaged roads."

Crowson Law Group

A spokesman from a firm of well-known Anchorage attorneys was asked to comment on car accidents as a result of poor road conditions. The spokesman responded by stating, “Given that the government is responsible for maintaining all public roads, it is only logical that government bears the responsibility for any accidents that occur as a result of poor road conditions.  However, state laws allow the government a reasonable amount of time to discover poor road conditions and also provides for a reasonable time to repair road issue. The government will not be held responsible for a dangerous road condition if there hasn’t been a reasonable amount of time for the government to discover the defect and a reasonable amount of time to repair the dangerous road condition. The keyword in the statement is ‘reasonable’.”

How does discovery of poor road conditions occur? The spokesman responded by saying that, “There are two ways discovery occurs 1) is by road users who report dangerous road conditions to the appropriate government department and 2) the government itself conducts regular surveys on the roadways; both these methods assist in the process of repairing damaged roads.”

In order for a person or a personal injury lawyer in Anchorage to successfully win a claim arising from an accident caused by a poor road condition, what needs to be done? “The person or lawyer needs to prove two things: 1) that the government knew or should have known about the poor road condition and 2) the government did not repair the poor road condition within a reasonable time period. In order for the claimant to prove this they would need to request survey records from the relevant government department – as government bodies conduct regular surveys to check for poor road conditions.

These records need to be examined to see whether and when the poor road condition had been identified. If there is no proof that the government knew about the poor road condition, one needs to show that the government should have known about the poor road condition – this will require research of the area and interviewing people who live near the location of the poor road condition.” He further added that regardless of whether someone intends to submit a claim, they should report the poor road condition as this would help prevent the road condition from causing another accident.

About the company:

Crowson Law Group is a respected law firm of professionals that focuses on personal injury. If you are looking for Anchorage personal injury attorneys, Crowson Law Group has the experience and knowledge to assist you.

Source: Crowson Law Group