Roadside Accidents
Roadside and work zone accidents happen for many of the same reasons that they occur in the middle of the road—inadequate safety measures, impaired visibility, driver confusion, and aggressive and inattentive drivers.
Although most vehicle accidents occur on streets, roads, or highways, a significant percentage of serious crashes and injuries happen in adjacent areas:
- Road shoulders
- Medians
- Construction work zones
SMB represents drivers, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians catastrophically injured in roadside and work zone vehicle accidents. And if a driver, passenger, cyclist, or pedestrian is tragically killed in such an accident, SMB represents the victim’s family members to obtain the compensation they need and deserve for their loss of a loved one.
Pennsylvania’s annual statistics about roadside and work zone accidents are startling. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, in 2017:
- 8,300 roadside crashes involving a parked or stalled vehicle resulted in 49 fatalities
- 6,600 guardrail-related crashes caused 109 fatalities
- 1,800 work zone accidents resulted in 1,100 injuries and 19 fatalities (including three road worker fatalities)
- $13,000,000SMB obtained a $13 million settlement from a national trucking company for a 56-year-old mother and 22-year-old son who were struck by a ...Read Story
- $3,000,000On the eve of trial, a $3 million settlement was reached last week in a wrongful death suit brought by the estate of a road construction worker who ...Read Story
Unmatched Experience
As one of Pennsylvania’s leading catastrophic injury firms, SMB has extensive experience handling all types of roadside and work zone vehicle accident, including:
- Inadequate or confusing construction signage, lane markings, and traffic stoppages create unsafe conditions that result in collisions and other accidents
- A stranded motorist’s car or truck is struck by a negligent driver who fails to see the stopped vehicle.
- Pedestrians or road repair workers walking on the side of the road are hit by a negligent driver’s car.
- Faulty road construction or maintenance causes a driver or motorcyclist to lose control and collide with a guardrail, concrete median, or construction barrier
- A driver, passenger, pedestrian, cyclist, or road worker is injured by debris or wind-shear injuries caused by their proximity to vehicles traveling at high speeds
- Aggressive drivers change lanes and collide with stranded vehicles, construction equipment, workers, cyclists or pedestrians
- Stranded vehicles collide with moving traffic when they attempt to re-enter the road
Unmatched Compensation
SMB casts a wide net for potential defendants in any of its roadside and work zone accident cases. Drivers, road construction/repair contractors and subcontractors, municipalities, and other governmental entities responsible for road conditions, guardrail, and other equipment manufacturers, can all be liable for a roadside or work zone accident.
For example, inadequate highway work zone safety measures can be the result of inadequate planning or miscommunication between contractors and/or the local department of transportation. When accidents and injuries happen, SMB’s trial lawyers conduct a detailed investigation and analysis of the planning documents and communication among the relevant parties to determine who was at fault.
SMB works tirelessly to help you get all the compensation to which you may be entitled, including for past and future medical and rehabilitation expenses, pain and suffering, emotional trauma, lost income, and future earnings.
If you have been injured, or a family member has been injured or killed, in a roadside or work zone accident, SMB is committed to obtaining all the results you need and deserve.