Imagine another driver swerves to avoid a large pothole, loses control and hits your car. You may think that the driver must pay for the crash. But the road itself may also raise a legal issue. If a road defect played a part in your injuries, more than one party may have responsibility.
Here are the parties you may need to consider.
The other driver
The other driver may still be at fault if they had time to react to an existing road defect but made an unsafe move that caused the crash. The driver may swerve into your lane, lose control or make another risky maneuver to avoid the issue.
Timing also matters. If the defect appeared just before the crash, the driver may have had little time to react. A last-second attempt to avoid a sudden hazard does not, by itself, mean the driver drove carelessly. The key question is whether the response made sense based on what the driver could see and how much time they had to react.
The government entity responsible for the roadway
The government entity responsible for maintaining the roadway may potentially bear responsibility when a dangerous condition contributes to your crash. Depending on where the accident occurred, that entity could include the state, county or municipality responsible for that road.
Indiana law generally requires responsible government entities to maintain public highways in a reasonably safe condition, although specific immunities and other rules can limit when you may recover damages. Government responsibilities can also include maintaining traffic-control devices and taking reasonable measures to address known hazards, such as appropriate warnings or traffic controls when circumstances call for them.
Both the driver and roadway authority
Both parties may share responsibility when the road defect and the driver’s actions each played a part in the crash. For example, the road authority may have failed to address a known hazard or warn drivers about it. The other driver may then have reacted in an unsafe way and hit you.
These circumstances can overlap, so you should not assume that only the driver or only the roadway authority could bear responsibility. The facts surrounding the defect, the driver’s response and the roadway’s maintenance can determine which parties may have legal responsibility.
Find out who may be responsible for your crash
When a road defect contributes to your accident, the driver who hit you may not tell the whole story. An attorney can review what happened and help you determine whether the other driver, the government entity that maintains the road or both may have responsibility for your injuries.
