If you have spent any time living or working in the District of Columbia, you are likely familiar with traffic jams, road closures, and all the other inconvenient side effects of road construction and repair work. As annoying as they can be in the moment, though, it is important to drive carefully while passing by or through construction zones—not just to keep construction workers safe, but to keep yourself safe.
If someone else failed to act responsibly around road construction and caused you to get hurt in a wreck, you may have several options for seeking financial compensation. If you want to make the most of your insurance claim or lawsuit after a construction zone car accident in DC, enlist the help of an experienced auto accident attorney who knows how to pursue—and win—cases like yours.
Everyone who operates a motor vehicle on public roads in the District of Columbia has the same duty of care, requiring them to act lawfully and responsibly behind the wheel at all times. In addition to obeying standard traffic laws and watching for nearby obstacles, drivers are also expected to adjust their driving behavior to account for potential hazards they see ahead of time. Active construction work certainly qualifies as a hazard that merits this kind of adjustment.
Because of this, it is sometimes possible to hold someone else legally liable for a construction zone car crash in the District, even if they technically did not do anything that would have been considered a traffic violation elsewhere. For instance, drivers are expected to slow down near construction zones, especially if there is a posted sign showing an adjusted speed limit. So, someone who rear-ends another driver while going the usual speed limit in a construction zone would still be considered negligent and liable for the crash’s consequences.
People who get hurt in car wrecks inside DC construction zones can also be negligent themselves, in which case they may be assigned a percentage of comparative fault for the role they played in causing their injuries. In most states, someone found partly to blame for their own accident in this way would generally have whatever final damage award they ended up receiving reduced in proportion to that same percentage.
Importantly, though, the District of Columbia—along with neighboring states Maryland and Virginia—follows a more old-fashioned and uncommonly harsh approach to this legal principle called pure contributory negligence. Under this system, any person found to hold any fault for their own injury is prohibited from receiving any civil compensation for that injury—an outcome that a skilled auto accident lawyer can help avoid.
Construction zones on major roadways can snarl up traffic for miles in every direction around them, but those slowdowns are important to keeping both workers and drivers safe from preventable harm. If someone else injured you by going too quickly—or doing anything else irresponsible—through a construction area, they should be the one who pays financially for your injury-related losses, not you.
Working closely with a capable lawyer is one of the best things you can do to get the best case result possible after a construction zone car accident in DC. Call today to learn how our team at Price Benowitz can help with your unique claim.
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