Auto and Truck Injuries: Litigating Roadside Hazard and Roadway Design Claims

This CLE course will review how to pursue or defend dangerous and hazardous roadway cases resulting in catastrophic injuries and sometimes damages of seven, eight, or more figures. The program will discuss the elements of the claims, disputing immunity, potential defendants, investigating the case, discovery, what types of experts are needed, and special procedures that may be required when suing governmental units. The speakers will also explore the most common defenses and the role of insurance in resolving these types of cases.

Thousands of drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians are killed or sustain life-altering injuries because of roadside hazards and poor roadway design. The most typical are sight obstructions, pavement edge drops, construction and maintenance work zones, faulty guardrails, or fixed objects too close to the road.

Because many states have repealed or scaled back sovereign immunity over the past several decades, roadway defect tort claims against governmental entities have increased. But there are often other potential defendants, including utility companies, business owners who obstruct views, other drivers, and contractors and subcontractors doing roadway construction (or the entity that hired them).

Many times, it is a combination of design and as-built factors that create a dangerous road condition. What may have been a reasonable design 50 years ago may have become dangerous as conditions changed.

Listen as this experienced panel reviews dangerous and hazardous roadway cases.