Fall River Road Defect Accidents
If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident because of a road defect, you may be entitled to compensation. While most car accidents happen as a result of negligent drivers, some car accidents would have never occurred if not for poor road conditions.
Roads that are not well-maintained pose a serious threat to drivers. No matter how many times people make passing remarks about a road being overdue for repairs, even joking about how bumpy or uncomfortable it might be, it rare that anything is actually ever done about it. The longer roads are left in disrepair, the more dangerous they become for drivers and passengers alike. That’s why it’s important to hold the appropriate organizations responsible for the upkeep of roads and highways.
The Law Offices of Ronald J. Resmini, Accident & Injury Lawyers, Ltd. represents people who have been injured in accidents caused by road defects. To talk to a member of our team about your case, call us today at (401) 751-8855.
Why You Need a Lawyer
Even if you were the only one in the car, and no other vehicles were involved in your accident, you may still be able to pursue legal action for damages that were caused because of a road defect, such as debris, inadequate lighting, or a pothole.
The first thing that a lawyer assigned to your case will do is determine who was negligent in taking care of the road where the accident occurred. It may be a government agency, a contractor, or a private owner. Whoever owns, or is responsible for the upkeep of, the road should have been maintaining it, and because they failed to do so, property damage, injuries, and even possibly fatalities have occurred.
This seems straightforward enough, but this sort of case can actually become very complicated. A lawyer will need to prove that the road defect was significant enough to cause the injuries and damage their client suffered. Pursuant to this, they will likely need to consult with experts and eyewitnesses to prove that the road was, in fact, dangerous in the state it was in.
The accountable party or their attorneys may try to blame the accident on another environmental factor or something that the driver did rather than taking the blame for the accident. This is especially true if the victim suffered severe injuries (or death), or extensive damage to their vehicle in the accident.
Since most of us do not have a background in the law, nor do we have the large network of connections that attorneys have, we would have a difficult time creating a compelling argument that we could successfully pursue in a court of law.
However, people often try to represent themselves in legal matters all the time without much success. If you’re serious about wanting compensation for your medical bills, property damage, time off work, and pain and suffering, you should always consult with a lawyer first to learn about all of your legal options.
It’s highly recommended that victims leave their legal battles for an experienced lawyer to fight, rather than taking them on themselves, but it’s especially important in a personal injury case.
After going through the ordeal of an unexpected accident and its aftermath, you should be focused on recovering from your injuries and getting back to a sense of normalcy. Conducting investigations, interviewing witnesses, and negotiating with other legal professionals are not activities that you have to worry about when you have a lawyer to handle them for you.
Why You Should Choose Us to Handle Your Case
By choosing The Law Offices of Ronald J. Resmini, Accident & Injury Lawyers, Ltd. to handle your case, you’re putting your trust in a firm that has over 85 years of combined experience handling personal injury cases in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. With hundreds of successful cases to our credit, our attorneys have proven themselves to be highly skilled trial lawyers.
Our founder, Ronald J. Resmini, has personally dedicated over 50 years of his life to practicing personal injury law. He is also the recipient of a number of accolades, notably being named Massachusetts Senior Attorney of the Year in 2010, and being listed as a Rhode Island “Super Lawyer” for nearly 10 years.
He has also written many articles and guides for other lawyers, and has been selected to the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys. Our other lawyers are also highly accomplished and well-regarded in their field.
Not every firm has such a wide range of practice areas, but we never shy away from a challenge. When other law firms are overwhelmed by a case, they refer it to us. We have plenty of experience handling car accident cases, and that includes cases involving road defects.
If you have questions about how we would handle your case, we would be happy to schedule a consultation for you with a knowledgeable member of our legal team. Consultations are always free, and they give you a good idea of what to expect from your case.
Our trial lawyers are not only very experienced, but they’re also understanding of all the struggles that accident victims go through. Our firm doesn’t sideline our clients while we work their cases. Instead, we invite input from our clients, and we are available to them over the course of their claims.
It’s important to us that our clients feel that we have represented their needs and properly addressed their concerns. We know better than anyone that lawsuits can be stressful and time-consuming, and that some days are better than others. Regardless of the circumstances, our attorneys stay honest and open with our clients about what’s really going on with their claims, and we respond promptly to any questions that they may have along the way.
As proof of our dedication to each case we take on, we don’t take a any payment from our clients until we win. This makes us accountable and gives you a break in an already-stressful time in your life.
Cases We Handle
Car accidents are sometimes random and unpredictable, but accidents that are caused by road defects should be very rare (occurring only when a sudden road defect occurs and there is not literally not enough time between the time it occurs and the accident happens to have it repaired).
The following are some common road defects that can affect the health and safety of Fall River drivers:
- Sloped shoulders
- Debris (either from construction sites or the natural environment)
- Uneven pavement
- Potholes
- Missing/inadequate lighting
- Missing/inadequate signage
- Missing/inadequate guard rails
Any of these road defects can cause injury or even death to unsuspecting drivers and innocent passengers. Holding the negligent party responsible, whether it is a government entity or a private owner, benefits the entire community.
While it seems like highways are always under construction for maintenance and improvement, the same cannot be said of other, smaller or less significant roads, which are often neglected, even by the government agencies responsible for them.
Signs can be defaced or torn down and lighting can go dark and never be remedied. Guard rails might be poorly installed poorly or may not be included in routine safety checks. Unfortunately, sometimes the only thing that spurs change is a tragedy.
Our firm is ready to confront any organization that acts negligently in the upkeep of a road. There’s no excuse for potholes, debris, or uneven pavement when these common road defects endanger the lives of people who are using the roads.
Because Massachusetts is a state that adheres to a modified comparative negligence doctrine, if the poorly-maintained road was not the only contributor to a vehicle accident you suffered, you can still collect compensation by filing a claim against the negligent party. However, you may receive a smaller sum than your claim is worth if you also acted in a negligent manner.
Comparative negligence allows for a gray area when both the defendant and the prosecution are found to be partially at fault for an accident. For example, if you were speeding on a curvy road and ran into the guardrail, but it wasn’t installed properly or was in disrepair, and it broke, both you and the party responsible for maintaining the guardrail would be partially responsible for the injuries you sustained in the crash. In this instance, how much you were at fault would be given a percentage amount, and that percentage would be deducted from the value of your claim.
The Law Offices of Ronald J. Resmini, Accident & Injury Lawyers, Ltd. can help you to understand how much you should expect from your claim. No matter who is to blame for the road defect that caused your accident, whether it’s the government or an individual, we will get to the bottom of it and fight for your right to compensation.
Contact Us
If you’ve been considering contacting a lawyer after your road defects accident, but you just haven’t gotten around to it yet, act fast. If the statute of limitations, which is typically three years from the date of the accident for personal injury cases, expires on your case, there’s nothing you can do to get back the money you lost on medical bills, transportation costs, and time spent off work while you recovered. Don’t hesitate anymore. For a free consultation of your case, call The Law Offices of Ronald J. Resmini, Accident & Injury Lawyers, Ltd. today at (401) 751-8855, or send us a message online.
