By William M. Davis
About half of all car crashes are due to poorly maintained roads, which opens the possibility of holding a city or county responsible for your accident. From potholes to shoulder drop-offs, missing guardrails and barriers, or even snow and ice, if a hazard on the road is due to negligence, it may be open to a claim or lawsuit.
If you believe that a road condition caused your accident, you may file a compensation claim with the government entity responsible for maintaining that road. However, it will be necessary to prove negligence. It must be established that a government knew about a hazard and failed to address it. For example, a pothole ignored for weeks that was the subject of numerous complaints is a more viable claim than an accident caused by debris on the road that was dumped by another individual. Additionally, a government agency may be able to establish there were clearly posted warning signs about the hazard that you overlooked or ignored. While the claims process can vary between municipalities, it generally involves providing the location of the incident, contact information for witnesses and photos of the damage. If the government ignores your claim, you may opt to sue. If so, there are some constraints on these types of cases in Pennsylvania.
Here, the law limits when you can sue the state or a municipality, as we explained in a previous blog, known as “sovereign immunity.” While this provides a defense for the state or municipal governments, there are exceptions that allow a claimant to sue. For example, you can pursue a claim if you were injured in a car accident with a city vehicle or if you were hurt in a slip and fall injury on a city street or sidewalk.
However, even when you can pursue a claim against a city or the commonwealth, there are still laws that limit the amount of damages you can recover. 42 Pa.C.S. § 8528 and 8553 specify that a claimant can recover only up to $250,000 for a claim against the commonwealth and $500,000 against the city for lost earnings, pain and suffering, medical expenses, loss of consortium and property loss.
These cases are often complex, and a plaintiff can benefit from the help of an experienced law firm well versed in premises liability and personal injury. If you were involved in an auto/car accident and you believe a government entity is responsible, contact us to discuss the details and see if you have a case.