Highway Design Liability

Unfortunately, car accidents are inevitable, so roads must be designed to help reduce both the likelihood and the severity of accidents. With more and more drivers on the road, the stakes are higher than ever. There are, however, many ways to make roads safer. Roads with clear lines of vision, adequate drainage of excess water to prevent hydroplaning, and light poles that shear off when hit by a car (rather than act as dangerously immovable barriers) are safer—and that's only the beginning. A design engineer, government agency, or private developer who fails to account for the real world in designing roads should be held responsible for the consequences of that neglect.

Working relentlessly with highly respected accident re-constructionists, highway traffic safety experts, and roadway designers, Raynes McCarty has been able to clearly establish the relationship between defective design and injuries.

• $15,000,000 Verdict for Car Passenger In an older section of Philadelphia, a set of decades old trolley tracks ran down the center of the street in a right-of-way reserved for public transit. Because the various governmental units involved could not agree who had the legal responsibility for maintaining the tracks, the condition of the tracks and surrounding road severely deteriorated. The dangerous condition of the roadway caused the driver of a car to lose control; tragically, the passenger suffered serious orthopedic injuries. Investigation of the accident revealed the interagency bickering. The agencies again would not fulfill their responsibilities by compensating the passenger for her injuries, thereby forcing her to trial. With Gerald A. McHugh, Jr. as co-counsel at trial, the jury returned a $15,000,000 verdict. The case was reported by the American Bar Association Journal as one of that year's top 10 jury verdicts. $15,000,000 Verdict for Car Passenger. Click here to read more about the case.

  An additional major goal of each of our cases is to correct the unsafe road condition. Examples include:

• Closing of Dangerous Ramp A highway entrance was the site of multiple traffic accidents, including those resulting in deaths. One of our attorneys was retained after a double fatality. As soon as the detailed legal pleadings were filed and served upon the state agency, the public officials took steps to close the ramp and eliminate the danger.
• Tree Removed On a rural stretch of highway, a tree was allowed to grow on a median strip, creating a blind spot for anyone turning off the road. After one of our attorneys proved, during the pre-trial stages, that a government agency was violating its own standards, the tree was immediately removed.

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