The American Society of Civil
Engineers' ("ASCE") “2010 Report Card for Pennsylvania’s
Infrastructure” gave our roads - - which are the state and local municipalities'
responsibility - - an overall D-minus grade rating 38% of Pennsylvania's roads as
"fair" or "poor".
Defective road conditions like
potholes and sinkholes can cause a driver to lose control of his vehicle leading
to accidents resulting in serious personal injury or death.
Accident Causing Defective Pennsylvania Roads
According to ASCE, Pennsylvania's
40,000 miles of state roads and 76,000 miles of local roads are among the nation's
oldest and have exceeded their design capacity including cracking and expanding
because of temperature and weather changes and rapidly deteriorating due to chemicals
used for snowy/icy conditions.
Further, ASCE says that 27%
of Pennsylvania’s 22,280 bridges are structurally deficient deeming 17% as "functionally
obsolete".
Potholes, crumbling roads giving
way to soft shoulders, drainage problems causing water or ice hazards, and
other defective roadway conditions can lead to car accidents, injury and death.
Governmental Liability for Defective Road Conditions
Although Pennsylvania’s
Sovereign Immunity Act generally bars suits against the government, dangerous
highways conditions created by potholes, sinkholes or similar conditions are
exempted.
Thus, the Commonwealth and local
governmental entities are liable if the dangerous condition creates a
reasonably foreseeable risk of injury that’s suffered by a motorist and the government
had actual written notice of the "dangerous condition" sufficiently prior
to an accident to protect against it.
Pennsylvania law allows lawsuits
against the government seeking damages for past and future loss of earnings and
earning capacity, pain and suffering, and medical and dental expenses and loss
of consortium.
Unlike most personal injury
claims, lawsuits against government entities for injuries caused by dangerous
road conditions require written notice of the claim made within six (6) months of
the accident.
Product Liability for Defective Road Conditions
If a defective product - - such
as asphalt or pavement supplied by a private contractor - -was a “substantial
factor” in causing the injury, a product liability lawsuit may be filed.
Anyone in the product's chain
of distribution can be held liable, including manufacturers, wholesalers,
distributors, and retailers.
Further, because Pennsylvania
is a “strict liability” state, claimants need not show that someone’s
negligence caused their property damage or personal injury. Instead, claimants must only show the defect's
existence and its relationship to the harm that was caused.
