North Carolina Work Zone Accidents Attorney

Work zone accidents should never happen. County and state road crews typically erect signs, cones, lights and other warnings to ensure that when traffic is either shifted or funneled in a work zone, drivers are warned well ahead and speed limits are reduced to ensure safety of drivers and the workers who build and maintain our roads. Unfortunately, selfish drivers may become impatient and ignore the reduced speed limits or other warnings and accidents in work zones often result in serious injury and property loss. If you or a loved one has suffered injuries in a collision in a work zone, you may have a legal right to compensation from the responsible party. Throughout the state, construction workers, drivers, and pedestrians may suffer serious injuries because of speeding motorists and drivers who fail to adjust their behavior to account for dangers inherent in road construction. At Nagle & Associates, Raleigh car accident lawyer Carl Nagle brings over 20 years of experience to his representation of injured individuals throughout North Carolina, including in Asheville, Winston-Salem, and Wilmington. During his years working in Atlanta, Georgia, he defended the Georgia Department of Transportation and he knows exactly how to establish claims against state and county agencies who fail to properly safeguard work areas and warn drivers. Our firm only handles personal injury claims for victims of roadway accidents, and our litigation skills are bolstered by Mr. Nagle’s former work experience as an insurance claims adjuster and then an insurance defense attorney. Our team has the insight and experience necessary to investigate the crash, collect and preserve valuable evidence, and pursue claims against all responsible parties and their insurance companies.

Take Legal Action Following a Work Zone Accident

Work zones are areas of streets, roads, or highways where construction activity takes place. This may include resurfacing asphalt, sealing cracks in the road, installing new water lines, and performing other activities. All work zone areas are required to have marked warning signs or other indicators, such as flashing lights, that let drivers know the location of the work zone activity.

Determining responsibility after you have suffered injuries in a work zone accident may be complex. A combination of factors may have led to a crash, including a negligent driver who struck your vehicle, negligent workers who failed to properly prepare the work site, and road conditions that were not properly maintained. As an injured victim of a vehicle accident in a work zone, you may have legal claims against more than one party. For example, if construction workers negligently prepared the site, and the road conditions contributed to your crash, you may have claims against both the negligent driver and the agency conducting the road work.

North Carolina drivers are required to exercise caution when approaching a work zone. Work zones are marked by signals or flashing lights, providing drivers with notice that they must slow down and have an increased awareness of their surroundings. Like many other states, North Carolina imposes increased penalties on drivers who speed or commit other traffic violations in a construction zone. These regulations protect construction workers, as well as pedestrians and other drivers sharing the road near work zones.

Car crashes in work zones often result from a driver’s negligence. Plaintiffs who pursue a claim against a defendant driver in a work zone must show that the defendant had a duty to use a certain degree of care, failed to exercise this level of care, and directly caused the plaintiff’s injuries and damages. The level of care required in a work zone is usually higherthan in a non-work zone. This is due to the presence of construction workers and the unstable condition of the repaired road or area.

Negligence claims provide a way for victims to secure compensation for losses resulting from a crash. Illustrating all of the damages resulting from the accident, including property damage, pain and suffering, loss of income, and medical bills, is important because it allows an injured individual to be placed in a stronger financial position following a crash. Interpreting medical evidence carefully and working with professionals in the medical and vocational fields may strengthen a victim’s claim for compensation.

A plaintiff must show that a defendant was entirely at fault for causing an accident, or North Carolina law may prevent them from recovering damages. The doctrine of pure contributory negligence bars plaintiffs who are found to be partly at fault from recovering compensation. However, the last clear chance rule may help plaintiffs if they can show that the defendant was the driver with the last opportunity to avoid the crash.

Some work zone accidents are caused by road crews and the NC Department of Transportation. While these cases are rare and complicated, claims can be presented against the NCDOT in cases where drivers are endangered by poor warnings, poor planning, or dangerous road construction activities. If the NCDOT is responsible in part for causing your accident, claims against this state agency are presented by bringing an action through the NC Industrial Commission and pursuing up to $1 million in funds which is the per-accident limit available to a victim who brings a successful claim under the North Carolina Tort Claims Act.

Retain a Car Accident Lawyer in Raleigh or Surrounding Areas

At Nagle & Associates, we can help you assert your legal right to compensation after a work zone car accident in North Carolina. Our firm is only paid if and when we collect money on your behalf. It is our priority to leave clients financially stable, so our legal fees are set at one-quarter of any settlement that you receive. Raleigh car accident attorney Carl Nagle can begin working with you right away, and he offers a free consultation. We have seven offices across the state, and our law firm has helped people in Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Asheville, Hickory, Wilmington, Charlotte, Greensboro, and other communities in Wake, Mecklenburg, Guilford, Forsyth, Brunswick, New Hanover, Durham, Catawba, and Cumberland Counties. Call (800) 411-1583 or use our online form to set up an appointment with a motor vehicle collision attorney.