Unsafe Public/Private Property

At the Law Offices of Mark A. Doughty, we represent people who have been injured or killed on unsafe roads, at dangerous intersections, or on other unsafe public and private property in the Sacramento area and throughout Northern California.

Some stretches of road, particularly those involving curves and grades, may be poorly designed from the beginning, making the turns too sharp or steep to be navigated safely, even at posted speeds. Even if designed correctly, roads may contain insidious defects which are unnoticeable to the human eye yet can cause a serious accident when encountered in precisely the wrong way by an unsuspecting vehicle. Motorcycles and bicycles are particularly susceptible to even small defects such as cracking, deformation, or surface texture deficiencies in concrete or bituminous (asphalt, blacktop, tarmac) pavements. Public sidewalks in disrepair or street repair projects can pose special dangers to pedestrians, who may be redirected onto alternate, unsafe routes.

The municipality, county or other government authority should be responsible for maintaining intersections in a safe manner, or providing adequate warning about any hazards. This responsibility may have been delegated to a private contractor, which would expose the contractor to liability for negligently performing its duty, but would not necessarily relieve the municipality from its ultimate responsibility. Finally, if the accident involved a collision with another driver, that driver may have been negligent as well, perhaps by driving too fast given the road conditions or not paying close enough attention to driving. All of these parties may be liable for their negligence. An experienced accident lawyer in Sacramento will be skilled at determining all proper parties from whom an injured plaintiff should be entitled to recover.

Lawsuits stemming from accidents on public roadways can be quite complex due to the number of potential defendants and the factual issues involved. Your legal team will need to conduct its own investigation apart from any report made by a government agency. This effort may involve the use of experts such as accident reconstructionists and mechanical, structural, and architectural engineers. You need an experienced attorney who knows how to properly direct an investigation and analyze the results in terms of apportioning liability against the proper defendants. If you have been injured on unsafe public or private property, contact the Law Offices of Mark A. Doughty today for a free consultation with an attorney who has over thirty years experience handling personal injury and wrongful death claims.