Ruppersburg Injury & Accident Attorneys focuses on helping people who have been injured or families who have lost a loved one in accidents caused by unsafe and dangerous roads, streets, and sidewalks. We’ve fought and won the Georgia Department of Transportation and secured millions of dollars in settlements for deserving clients. Call us for a free consultation about your case. There is no fee unless we win.
Common Road Defects
Common road defects include:
- Missing and Damaged Signs: Signs that are missing or damaged, especially stop signs, are extremely dangerous to drivers
- Broken and defective guardrails: guardrails are meant to protect drivers from running off the road but a broken or defective guardrail can “spear” a car, killing or seriously injuring those inside
- Potholes, Broken and Uneven Pavement:: Potholes, lcracks, rutting, broken or uneven pavement can cause cars and motorcyclists to lose control and crash
- Malfunctioning Traffic Signals: traffic lights that do not work or malfunction are very dangerous and can cause traffic accidents;
- Low Shoulder / Shoulder Drop-Offs: The shoulder of a road is supposed to be level and even with the road itself. A low shoulder or shoulder drop-off is when the shoulder is significantly lower than the road. If a car drifts onto a low shoulder, it is hard to safely re-enter the road, causing drivers to lose control.
- Inadequate Drainage: roads must be properly sloped to allow water to drain off roads. If they are not, water can pool and puddle, leading to dangerous hydroplaning accidents;
- Overgrown trees and foliage: these can cover road signs and obstruct your vision / line of sight at intersections
- Hazards in clear zone: the area beside the road is supposed to be a “clear zone” to prevent cars that accidentally run off the road from striking something.
Liability in Road Defect Claims
The main challenge in any road defect case is that you generally cannot sue the government because of a legal principle called sovereign immunity. While there are exceptions, they depend on whether the road was a State, city or county road.
Liability of the State of Georgia Department of Transportation
If your accident happened on a state route, highway or interstate, your case is against the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), meaning the State of Georgia. Claims against the State of Georgia fall under the Georgia Tort Claims Act (GTCA), O.C.G.A. § 50-21-20. Under the GTCA, you can hold the state responsible for an accident caused by an unsafe or dangerous road when GDOT does not properly inspect or maintain the road. You can also hold the state responsible when GDOT improperly plans or designs the road / intersection, though you have to prove that the road / intersection did not comply with “generally accepted engineering or design standards” at the time it was designed / planned. Many roads and intersections, especially in rural Georgia, were built many years ago. While safe when they were initially built, they are not anymore. To hold the State / GDOT responsible in an accident involving an older road or intersection, you have to show the road / intersection did not comply with engineering or design standards at the time it was built, not now. Liability of Cities
If your accident happened on a city street, your case is against the city. Under Georgia law O.C.G.A. § 32-4-93, a city is responsible for an injury caused by an unsafe or dangerous road if it negligently built or maintained the road, if it knew about the hazard or if the hazard was there long enough that the city should have discovered it.
County Liability
If your accident happened on a county road, your case is against the county. Unfortunately, road defect claims against Georgia counties are virtually impossible to win. Under Georgia law, you must prove that the county had actual notice of the unsafe road / defect and that it had a policy that required it to fix the hazard. It is not enough to prove that the hazard was there long enough that the county should have discovered and fixed it; you must prove that the county actually knew about it, such as an employee noticing it or another person reporting it. The Critical Ante Litem Notice Requirement
The first step in any road defect case is sending the correct governmental entity a legal notice called an ante litem notice. It must include information about what happened, why the government was negligent and your injuries. The deadline to send an ante litem notice depends on whether your case is against the State, a city or a county. Here are the deadlines:
There are no exceptions to the ante litem requirement. If you do not send an ante litem notice, do not send it to the correct governmental entity or do not include the correct information, your case will be dismissed, no matter how badly you were injured or how strong your case is.
Types of Compensation
An injured person can recover the following types of compensation in a road defect case:
- Medical Expenses: This includes ambulance fees, hospital stays, surgical procedures, doctor visits, prescription medications, rehabilitation, and long-term care needs.
- Lost Wages and Loss of Earning Capacity: Compensation for income lost due to time missed from work. This also includes the loss of the ability to earn the same income in the future.
- Property Damage: The cost to repair or replace the damaged vehicle and any personal items destroyed in the accident.
- Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical pain, discomfort, and inconvenience caused by the injury, both in the past and what is expected in the future.
- Emotional Distress: Damages for the mental and emotional consequences of the trauma, such as anxiety, depression, fear, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: Compensation for the diminished ability to participate in hobbies, recreational activities, and daily life that the injured person enjoyed before the accident.
- Wrongful Death: in a wrongful death case, the family of the deceased can recover what Georgia law calls “the full value of the life of the deceased” and the deceased’s pain and suffering.
Limitations on Compensation
In a case against the State / GDOT, the Georgia Tort Claims Act limits the amount of compensation that a victim can recover to $1,000,000 per person / $3,000,000 per incident. This means the most one person can recover is $1,000,000 and the maximum available from an accident is $3,000,000, no matter how many people were injured. For instance, if 5 people were injured, the most that any one person could recover would be $1,000,000 and the most that all 5 people combined could recover is $3,000,000, even if their injuries justify a much higher verdict or settlement.
In a wrongful death case involving the Georgia Tort Claims Act, there is $1,000,000 available for “the full value of the life of the deceased” and $1,000,000 available for the deceased’s pain and suffering.
How a Georgia Road Defect Lawyer Can Help
The procedural hurdles associated with road defect litigation exist to protect government agencies, making it difficult for an unrepresented claimant to pursue compensation. A Georgia road defect lawyer can help by:
Identifying the Correct Defendant
Determining whether the road is under the jurisdiction of a city, county, state, or private entity. Misidentifying the responsible party can be a fatal error.
Ensuring Compliance With Ante Litem Notice
Drafting and properly serving the formal notice, ensuring it meets all strict statutory content and delivery requirements before the short deadlines expire.
Investigating Engineering Standards
Hiring engineers and accident reconstruction specialists to prove the government failed to comply with road design and maintenance standards, often citing non-compliance with the MUTCD.
Managing Sovereign Immunity Defenses
Building a case that specifically overcomes the government entity’s claims of immunity by satisfying the statutory exceptions.
Contact Our Road Defect Lawyer
The Georgia road defect lawyer team at Ruppersburg Injury & Accident Attorneys understands the specific statutes governing state, county, and municipal liability. We apply this detailed knowledge to investigate the defect, determine jurisdiction, and manage the critical ante litem notice process. As such, we stand ready to help clients and accept attorneys who assess complex road defect claims across Georgia.
Contact us at 706.354.1000 for a free consultation. We focus on recovering compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and other damages caused by negligent road maintenance or design.
