Who’s Liable for Construction Zone Car Accidents?

Construction zones on roads are common during the spring and summer months, especially in the areas in and around New York City. While they are necessary for maintaining and improving infrastructure, construction zones can create hazardous conditions that significantly increase the risk of car accidents. As a driver, it’s your responsibility to drive safely and follow the rules of the road. It’s the responsibility of construction companies and the municipality that has hired them to ensure that drivers can safely navigate construction zones, whether workers are present or not. 

If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident while driving in a construction zone, it’s important to understand that many parties can be held liable in a lawsuit. Construction zone accidents can be complex, and liability can be attributed to many different combinations of parties. Our car accident attorneys will work with you on your case to determine liability and present the strongest case on your behalf.  

We’ll help you understand your legal options if you find yourself injured in such an incident. Find out more about attributing liability in these types of cases. 

What Dangers Cause Accidents in Construction Zones? 

Construction zones introduce a few unique hazards that are not typically present on regular roads. These hazards can cause car accidents: 

• Obstructions: Heavy equipment, tools, and construction materials may partially block roads or create obstacles that drivers need to navigate. 
• Changing Traffic Patterns: Temporary and shifting lanes, merges, closures, detours, and other route changes can confuse drivers and make roads harder to navigate, especially if the changes are not clearly marked.
• Reduced Speed Limits: Speed limits may be lowered in construction zones, but not all drivers adhere to them, which can increase the risk of collisions. 
• Distractions: Everything from signage to workers, machinery, noise, and other distractions can divert a driver’s attention from the road. 
• Collapses and Debris: Construction zones can have debris that is kicked up by machinery or workers, and there is always the potential for collapses and other common construction zone hazards to cause an accident on the road. 

These factors and more can contribute to accidents, but it’s not always clear who is at fault in the aftermath. Who can be held responsible for causing a car accident in a construction zone? 

Other Drivers Can Be Held Liable 

The rules of the road still apply in construction zones, where even more vehicle and traffic laws have been added into the mix. In many cases, drivers and their insurance providers can be held liable for construction zone accidents caused by: 

• Negligence like speeding, distracted driving, or failure to obey traffic signs. 
• Recklessness and aggressive driving behaviors, such as unsafe lane changes or ignoring merge signs. 

Keep in mind that your case could be in jeopardy if you were not following all applicable vehicle and traffic laws while traveling in a construction zone. However, if another driver’s actions led to your injuries, they could be held responsible under personal injury law.  

Construction Companies and Contractors Can be Held Liable 

Construction companies are responsible for ensuring their work zones are as safe as possible. Should they fail to ensure the safety of drivers moving through a construction zone, they can be held liable in a personal injury case. Some causes for liability include: 

• Inadequate Signage or Barricades: These can include poorly marked road transitions, unclear signage, inadequate barricading, or anything that can be considered confusing. 
• Negligent Management of the Site: This includes leaving equipment improperly secured or failing to clear hazards from driving lanes. 

If the construction company did not take reasonable steps to secure the site or warn of potential hazards, they might be held legally responsible for any resulting accidents. At Morelli Law, our construction experts can help identify hazards that should have been resolved or brought to the attention of drivers, helping establish liability in your case. 

Cities or Municipalities Can Also Be Held Liable 

Any city or municipality that hires a construction company to work on their roads can also be held liable for injuries that occur in those work zones. It’s the municipality’s responsibility to maintain roads or properly manage traffic flow in and around construction zones, which means they can be held liable due to: 

• Poor road maintenance 
• Inadequate planning regarding traffic flow or safety measures in the construction zone 

The Liability of Equipment Manufacturers 

Manufacturers of construction equipment are not immune to liability if it can be proven that the equipment they make is at least partially responsible for accidents or injuries that occur in a construction zone. If, for example, a defect in a piece of heavy machinery causes heavy debris to fall onto the road, causing an accident, the manufacturer of that equipment can be held liable for damages. Other defects in traffic lights, safety equipment, or any other product that causes an accident can lead to a lawsuit against the manufacturer. 

What to Do if You are Involved in a Construction Zone Accident

If you’ve been involved in a car accident within a construction zone, make sure to seek medical attention immediately, report the accident to the police, and contact a car accident lawyer who specializes in construction zone accidents to discuss your case and potential claims. You may be able to recover damages for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, punitive damages, and more. 

Navigating the aftermath of a car accident can be complex, and our skilled attorneys at Morelli Law can help you prepare a strong case that determines liability and gets you the justice you and your family deserve. Our team will help you investigate the accident to gather evidence in support of your claim, identify liable parties, deal with insurance companies and other parties, and with everything else involved in your case. Most importantly, our team is not afraid of litigation; we will aggressively represent you in court. 

Get In Touch with Our Team Today 

If you or someone you know has been the victim of a construction zone accident, we can help you navigate the legal landscape. Get in touch with us today for a free case evaluation.