The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety estimates that 20 percent of all fatal accidents involve single vehicles running off the road.  Many times driver error or carelessness is the sole cause such accidents.  However, in many instances, the governmental agency that designed and/or maintains the road may be responsible for causing such accidents.  In addition, if the governmental agency that maintains the road hired a subcontractor to maintain and/or repair the road, and such maintenance was not performed correctly resulting in a hazardous condition, the subcontractor may also be liable.

Examples of hazardous conditions which if present could result in liability against the governmental agency which designed/maintains the road and/or subcontractors it hired for this purpose for causing a single vehicle accident include lack of guardrails on an elevated roadway, defective guardrails, lack of warning signs or inadequate warning signs to warn travelers of highway defects and sharp curves, and excessive drop offs from the road onto the berm or shoulder of the road.

DLP recently obtained a mult-million dollar settlement on behalf of a client who suffered catastrophic injuries in a single vehicle accident caused by a negligent highway subcontractor that had been hired by PennDot.  She lost control of her vehicle when it left the roadway because the drop- off from the roadway to the berm (shoulder) of the road was excessive.  If you or a loved one suffered a serious injury in a one vehicle accident, contact DLP to find out if someone else may be legally responsible for causing your/their injuries.