Syracuse, New York Missing Guardrails Accident

Jed Dietrich, Esq., Recognized as a Super Lawyer, is Committed to Providing Unparalleled Representation and Peerless Personal Injury Service. If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured in a Car Accident That Was Not Your Fault, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. Could Help You Investigate Your Collision and Begin Asserting Your Rights to a Fair Recovery.

Almost everyone hits the road with a certain set of expectations.

Some responsibilities follow our tax dollars. If you live anywhere in New York, not just Syracuse, but Buffalo, Rochester, or Albany, your taxes and tolls are supposed to pay for road maintenance. Yet New York, a state with more wealth than most countries, has notoriously dilapidated infrastructure. Any oversight by the county or state, even as simple as a missing set of guardrails, could have life-altering repercussions.

If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, you could be entitled to significant compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. But the defendant is not just another driver; it is a government agency, the rules change. You may have to file a notice of claim within a matter of months; if your case clears the initial claims process, there is a good chance you will have to meet a higher standard of evidence than if you were suing another motorist.

You do not have to take chances with your rights. The Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has spent decades filing, fighting, and winning cases like yours. A recognized U.S. News & World Report Best Law, we know what it takes to build a compelling, evidence-based case for compensation, and we have the results to prove it. If your accident involved missing or poorly-maintained guardrails, our experienced team of personal injury lawyers could help you explore your best options for legal relief. Call Jed Dietrich, Esq., today at 1-866-529-5334 to speak to a car accident lawyer near Syracuse and schedule your 100% free, no-obligation consultation as soon as possible.

A guardrail is a critical piece of road-safety infrastructure.

Guardrails serve as a safety barrier intended to protect motorists who inadvertently leave the road. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, properly installed and maintained guardrails serve as a static obstacle that can effectively slow or halt an out-of-control vehicle. They are also installed in places along slopes, steep embankments, and other places where striking metal is preferable to the potential consequences of leaving the roadway.

As a general rule, recently-installed guardrails in the United States are subject to strict quality control. However, guardrails only work as designed when they are installed properly and regularly maintained.

Any lapse in a guardrail system could be dangerous. A guardrail system could fail if:

1. Rust or corrosion to part of the system weakens the whole;
2. Missing or damaged parts of the guardrail system are not maintained or promptly replaced;
3. The guardrail system itself is not easily visible, leading drivers to inadvertently collide with its terminals;
4. The guardrail system is inherently flawed and designed in a way that redirects crashed vehicles back into traffic or raises the chances of a roll over-type accident; and
5. Another driver acts negligently and, with sufficient force or at high speeds, forces another vehicle into the guardrail system.

In New York, guardrail systems are built and maintained by different stakeholders. Even in Syracuse, certain infrastructure systems within city limits are maintained by municipal officials; others are overseen by Onondaga County, while some on the New York State Thruway are repaired by the state. With so many different parties involved, simply identifying the right defendants, one of the first steps in filing a personal injury lawsuit, could pose a surprisingly stiff obstacle to recovery.

Do not gamble with your rights: contact the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. to speak to a car crash lawyer near Syracuse and find out how our attorneys could help you build back better after an accident.

Guardrails are designed to withstand collisions and redirect the force of impact, but they are still a measure of last resort. If somebody strikes a guardrail, it is because something, at some level, has gone very wrong. Many single-vehicle crashes cannot be attributed to another person or party’s fault. Instead, they are often a consequence of alcohol consumption, distraction, or negligence.

Of course, this is not always the case.

Every accident is different, and even a single-vehicle collision could have defendants if road conditions, including the condition of infrastructure features, were inadequate or inherently unsafe. Depending on the circumstances of your crash, any of the following parties could be named as a defendant:

1. The City of Syracuse;
2. Onondaga County;
3. The State of New York;
4. Another government agency;
5. A road contractor or construction company;
6. The company that makes, manufactures, or tests the guardrails; and
7. Another motorist.

Since guardrail-related accidents are not always straightforward and may involve fault at different levels, having to name more than one defendant is not unusual. Litigating a case against multiple parties could come across as an unwelcome complication, but it could provide a much better opportunity to recover damages.

Lawyers, insurance companies, and courts all use the term “damages” to describe the different types of compensation that can be obtained through a personal injury lawsuit. However, every state has its own rules on damages. In New York, damages tend to fall into the following categories:

1. Economic damages. Your economic damages could include your hospital bills, the costs of anticipated care, physical rehabilitation-related fees, or the replacement of lost income from work.
2. Non-economic damages. Non-economic damages, abstract forms of pain, suffering, and hardship, like physical pain and suffering, emotional pain and suffering, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment.
3. Punitive damages. Punitive damages, in contrast, are only levied in cases that involve acts of overt negligence, intentional wrongdoing, or a wanton disregard for the safety and well-being of others.

Since guardrail systems are almost always installed by the state or its contractors, lawsuits involving infrastructure must often contend with issues of qualified and sovereign immunity. These doctrines, along with others, assert that the state and state officials are only liable for personal injuries if certain conditions have been met. For example, you may be expected to file a notice of claim with the defendant agency before trying to file a lawsuit in court. If you miss the deadline for your notice of claim, you may not be able to proceed to trial, even if you have an ironclad case and the best possible evidence.

Since our founding in 2005, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has helped our clients across Upstate New York secure more than $250 million in damages. We could help you, too. Send us a message online or call us at 1-866-529-5334 to speak to a personal injury lawyer near Syracuse and schedule your 100% free, no-obligation consultation as soon as possible.

Call the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. immediately at 1-866-529-5334 so that our aggressive, tenacious, and hardworking personal injury lawyers can fight to obtain the best result for your personal injury claim in Syracuse, New York. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and there is never a fee until we WIN for you!