Road Departure Crashes

Car Accident Attorneys Helping Los Angeles Residents

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, road departure crashes cause many highway fatalities around the country. For example, there were 17,791 fatalities due to road departure accidents in 2014. Road departure crashes are accidents that happen after a car or another vehicle crosses the lines that mark a lane. If you have been hurt in a road departure crash caused by someone else, the aggressive Los Angeles car accident lawyers at Sharifi Firm may be able to pursue damages from the responsible party on your behalf.

Seeking Compensation for a Road Departure Crash

Road departure crashes are also called lane departure accidents. They may result in a vehicle roll-over or a car crashing into another vehicle or into a fixed object, such as a tree. The primary cause of these accidents is speeding by the driver who leaves the road. It is common, for example, for a speeding driver to lose control around a curve in the road and then leave the road. Other reasons for drifting off the road are drunk or drugged driving, fatigued driving, and tire blowouts. A driver may lose control of a vehicle once a tire blows out. Sometimes the cause of a road departure accident, however, is another driver or an unsafe roadway.

If another driver is to blame for your road departure crash, you may be able to recover damages. You will most likely need to establish the other driver’s negligence by proving that they failed to drive safely, and as a result, you were injured. For example, if the other driver was a drunk driver who crossed the center line, and you had to leave the road to avoid a head-on collision, you would be able to establish negligence. Similarly, if a driver was traveling with excessive speed and tried to race you and then forced you off the road, you would likely be able to recover damages.

Sometimes both the victim and another driver are to blame for a road departure. For example, if the victim provoked the other driver into acting aggressively toward them, they may be found to be partially to blame for the road departure crash. If both parties are found negligent, the jury will determine the total damages and assign a percentage of fault to each of them, and the victim’s damages will be reduced by their percentage of fault.

When a road is designed in an unsafe way or does not have guardrails when it should, you may be able to sue the government entity that is responsible for the road. Generally, you have only a very narrow window of time within which to notify a government agency that you are bringing a claim of negligence against it for your injuries.

Consult an Experienced Car Accident Lawyer in Los Angeles or Beyond

At Sharifi Firm, our experienced Los Angeles attorneys may be able to help you recover compensation if you were hurt or a family member was killed in a road departure crash caused by someone else. We understand the different avenues of recovery that may be available to you after this type of accident, and we can advise and represent you in the legal process. Contact us online or call us at (866) 422-7222 to set up a free consultation with a motor vehicle collision attorney. Our firm also represents clients in Riverside, Glendale, Temecula, San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, and Covina, as well as other Southern California cities.