A construction zone DC car accident lawyer can alleviate your stress and anxiety as you deal with injury. Typically, a DC accident lawyer represents victims in cars. In our 71 years of practice, we have handled over 10,000 personal injury cases. Our depth of experience has seen us provide legal representation to countless pedestrians, cyclists, bikers, and construction workers. Construction zone car accidents are complex. Sometimes, barriers are set up, making it challenging for larger vehicles to navigate. Cars may need to suddenly stop if a construction worker turns a sign from slow to stop. A sudden stoppage can lead to rear-end accidents and is always more dangerous.
At Gelb & Gelb, P.C., our firm’s construction zone DC car accident lawyers have seen first-hand how complex these battles can become. On the one hand, the law seeks to protect perilous situations for workers just trying to do their jobs. On the other hand, if a driver is placed under an unreasonable burden, such as having to stop instantly or perhaps miscommunication among construction workers, causing a head-on collision, the legal analysis may not be so straightforward. Our attorneys seek to lead you through this maze and win your case. As a driver, you may face hefty fines and deal with the guilt of a fatal accident. On the other hand, a construction worker who is killed due to the negligence of a driver deserves justice for him and his family. We handle cases for both sides, aggressively pursuing the negligent party and recovering justice for you and your family.
If you have broken bones, cannot work because of your injuries, or are a family member seeking justice, we are here to help. Call our office today at (202) 331-7227 for a free consultation.
There are nuanced laws governing construction zone safety in DC. Here, we closely examine the laws affecting your ability to make a claim with a construction zone DC car accident lawyer.
Speed limits are often reduced in DC construction zones, and fines increase. This is done to protect hardworking construction workers from negligent drivers. The premise is that higher fines will deter speeding and thereby negligence. While it is not always sufficient to protect the people working in a construction site, it is the right idea. Meanwhile, if you are an injured construction worker and struck by a speeding driver, you may have a case to pursue a per se negligence claim against the driver. While the fines are criminal and do not affect your civil case with your construction zone DC car accident lawyer, whether the police ticketed the driver may be worth noting. Police reports in a car accident, while not necessarily admissible in court as they are hearsay, are used by insurance companies when negotiating a settlement.
A construction zone DC car accident lawyer will explain how a police report blaming you can affect your case in more detail during your free consultation. Fines for speeding are treated the same way. Technically, it is a criminal fine. Suppose the driver goes to court and fights the speeding ticket and prevails, being found not guilty of speeding. That has no bearing on your civil case. The burden of proof in a criminal trial is higher than in a civil trial. The burden in a criminal trial is for a jury to believe the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Meanwhile, the plaintiff in a civil trial merely must show by a preponderance of the evidence, which means, more likely than not, that the defendant acted negligently. Moreover, the assignment of a speeding ticket is subject to a probable cause standard.
Proper signage and barricading can help protect those on a construction site from negligent drivers. While barricading is not always enough to protect against a negligent driver, it may provide sufficient protection to at least slow the driver down. Washington, DC, also requires that signage be sufficiently visible. The signage must be visible to all drivers day and night. So, when you drive through a construction zone on the highway and notice the bright lights, it is not just for visibility for the workers’ sake. It is also to protect the workers from fatigued and careless drivers. This includes signs indicating the start and end of a construction zone, detours, lane shifts, and reduced speed limits.
There are bright orange safety cones beyond the large barricades tightly wrapped around each lane. Unfortunately, these do not provide as much protection for workers. However, they are better than nothing because they are more clearly visible, especially at night. Some drivers are drunk, tired, or just do not care enough to slow down. That is when sufficient barricading is necessary to protect the construction workers maintaining our roads, waterlines, and everything else necessary to keep our city running.
For questions on sufficient signage or barricading, speak with a construction zone DC car accident lawyer for the most up-to-date laws.
Lighting and visibility are critical elements in protecting construction zone workers from negligence. This extends beyond the scope of a car accident. Construction companies must provide a safe work environment for their employees, allowing them to see what they do as they work. A failure to provide adequate lighting can be negligence by the construction company, rather than any individual employee. No matter if you are in a car or a construction worker, this is preferable because there is likely more coverage available for your damages if we prevail.
You can determine liability in a construction zone accident with assistance from a construction zone DC car accident lawyer. The rule of law is the same for determining liability in these instances. Anyone who breaches a duty owed to a foreseeable plaintiff and causes that plaintiff harm is liable for the injuries suffered. A negligent driver typically harms a construction worker in a construction zone accident. That is clear negligence if a driver negligently drives through a barricade or cone. But what if a driver merely floats out of his lane by just a few feet and into a construction zone? That is negligence.
But is the driver liable for injuries sustained if nobody was visible to him? The defense will argue that a construction zone worker plaintiff was not a foreseeable plaintiff because he was bending down while working on something. However, there is liability so long as there is some signage, lights, cones, barricades, or anything else to signify to the driver that there is a construction zone. Even if it was pitch black out and the construction worker had taken off his orange vest, if the driver negligently exits his lane and hits a worker, there is a case to be tried.
The challenge in winning a construction zone accident case is comes when the driver speeds off. Then, we must prove that you were in a car accident. If you are in a construction zone, there should be plenty of eyewitnesses able to testify that a car did strike you and then fled the scene. Then, you can use your car insurance on your vehicle at home and any insurance your employer provides. You may also have a worker’s compensation claim to consider.
Additionally, there may be multiple liable parties. This can be complex when different parties share varying portions of the blame. For example, one employee may share 45% of the blame, while the other two share a combined 55% of the blame. Who do you sue then? Do you sue only the construction worker who is the most to blame? You may consider that he is not an option because he is still less than half at fault. The answer is that you can successfully sue all three parties and recover 100% of your damages as long as you do not share even 1% of the blame yourself.
After a construction zone accident, consulting with a construction zone DC car accident lawyer is critical. The experienced attorneys at Gelb & Gelb, P.C., led by Managing Partner Roger Gelb, are here to help. There are many complex layers in a construction zone accident case. There is workman’s compensation insurance, employer’s liability insurance, disability insurance, health insurance, and auto insurance.
Call our office today for a free consultation. Our phones take calls 24/7 at (202) 331-7227.
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