Many multi-vehicle and single vehicle accidents that take place on state and local roads are the result of roadway design defects. Defective roadways cause between 15 and 20% of all vehicle accidents or approximately 1/6. Unfortunately, many victims and attorneys do not have the experience necessary to successfully prosecute defective roadway cases. The experienced car accident lawyers at Reiff and Bily have been handling catastrophic car accident cases and defective roadway cases since 1979. We have become involved in many cases where an initial attorney failed to recognize a roadway defect. We have also evidenced many cases where another attorney failed to present a roadway defect case and in fact, prevented their client from achieving the maximum financial compensation.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and other local Pennsylvania entities can be held liable for accidents or injuries that occur as a result of improperly designed or maintained roadways. The Philadelphia defective roadway design law firm of Reiff and Bily has had extensive experience investigating defective roadway cases and have available to them the best team of road and highway design experts, engineers, surveyors, illumination and warning experts, and accident investigators necessary to expose negligence on the part of responsible parties or entities for roadway design defects.

In many cases where insurance coverage is limited in a multi-vehicle collision, a further investigation often reveals roadway defects which play an additional and/or major role causing the accident. Many of the recurring accidents that take place on state and local roads are the result of improper shoulder and berm drop-off, improper design or placement of median barriers, obstruction of a clear zone of travel in the right-of-way including but not limited to:

1. utility poles
2. trees
3. narrow bridge abutments
4. uncovered ditches or obstructions or poor drainage
5. improper signage
6. potholes
7. failure to properly resurface a road
8. improper grading
9. foliage obscuring stop signs or other signs obscured by foliage
10. malfunctioning traffic lights
11. open pits, trenches or potholes
12. construction site violations
13. improper lane width
14. lack of shoulder as well as many other negligent traffic design or road defects.

Legal action involving an accident attributable to defective roadway design or attributable to negligence on the part of governmental authorities must be initiated within six months of the date of the accident. However, it is important to collect evidence immediately to begin to properly begin the investigative process. Therefore, it is essential that you contact an experienced defective roadway design attorney as soon as possible.

If you were injured as the result of a dangerous road or highway, we suggest that you take photos of the accident scene immediately in order to record any road damage or road conditions that may be repaired or changed before your personal injury case heads to trial. We then suggest that you contact an experienced defective roadway lawyer at Reiff and Bily where we have the resources and experience necessary to expose negligence on the part of the Commonwealth and the municipalities in cases involving defective roadway conditions.

Call today for a free consultation and evaluation of your case at 1-800-421-9595 or contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com.