Falling and Flying Road Hazards

Damage to your car and serious bodily injury can occur even when you are following all the rules of the road and no other party makes a dangerous maneuver. The cause of the damage? Sometimes road hazards are objects falling off of another vehicle, and other times the hazard occurs when there is road debris from an object that has already fallen and is left lying in the middle of the highway.

Damage Caused by Trucks

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 87,000 large trucks and buses were involved in injury crashes in 2015. Usually, such crashes involve striking a passenger vehicle or making a maneuver that causes another vehicle to crash. However, sometimes crashes or damage is caused when small to large objects fall off of trucks. And, whether or not a truck has a sign posted “Not responsible for damage caused by debris,” that trucking company can be held liable for damage caused by objects that fall or fly off the truck. Damaged windshields from oncoming snow plows can be compensated when the company is either a private or public agency.

Natural Hazards

Signs cautioning road users of the potential for falling rocks from hillsides and cliffs are common in New Jersey. But what happens when you do get injured in a crash caused by falling rocks? Most often, there is little chance for legal compensation from the state transportation department or local municipality when natural phenomena, such as rockfall, causes personal injury or personal property damage. Only in rare cases will a lawsuit prevail when filing a claim against a governmental agency for causing any type of crash. In order to have a chance, there must be clear and substantial history of a particular segment of road being dangerous due to potholes, design, or damage. Such a stretch of road does exist on I-80 in Knowlton that has the highest potential for falling rocks anywhere in the state. The Department of Transportation is planning to build a retaining fence for falling rocks, according to the New Jersey Herald.

A Red Bank Personal Injury Attorney is Here to Assist Your Case

If you have suffered damages from any type of falling debris from a truck or passenger vehicle, or any other type of damage caused by road debris, you may have legal options for compensation. To find out more, you must contact a Red Bank personal injury attorney. Call Foss, San Filippo & Milne, LLC. today at (732) 741-2525.