The car accident attorneys at Bisnar | Chase have handled numerous cases involving dangerous roadways and defectively designed roadways and intersections that have caused catastrophic injuries to our clients. So it comes as little surprise to me that a new study by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), found that dangerous road conditions are "substantially more lethal than drunk driving, speeding or non-use of seatbelts."

According to this study, defective roadways are responsible for more than 22,000 fatalities annually. That is a little more than half the total number of traffic accident fatalities reported in one year in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Injuries caused by roadway deficiencies also cost $217 billion annually, far exceeding the costs of DUI crashes ($130 billion); speeding ($90 billion); and failure to wear a seatbelt ($60 billion).

Among the main problems on our nation's roadways, the study identifies problem poles, lack of brighter more durable pavement markings, lack of rumble strips on shoulders, lack of adequate guard rails and safety barriers and finally, lack of proper signage. California is second on the list of 10 states with the highest total crash costs as a result of dangerous roadways.

There is no question that our local cities, counties and state governments do not focus adequately on hazardous roadways. It is hardly surprising that we are looking at the consequences of neglecting our infrastructure, especially here in California. It's time that our government gets their priorities straight. Not doing so would result in serious liability issues.

California’s Government Code section 835 provides that a public entity or governmental agency is liable for damages to an injured person or his or her family because of a condition of public property when the injured person proves that:

• There was a dangerous condition on the public property at the time of injury
• The injury was proximately caused by the dangerous condition
• The dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of injury of the kind that occurred; and
• Either (a) The negligent or wrongful action or failure to act of an employee of the public entity created the dangerous condition, or (b) the public entity had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition a sufficient time before the injury to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous condition

If you or a loved one has been injured because of a dangerous roadway condition, the governmental agency in charge of maintaining that roadway could be held liable. You should be consulting with an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Please remember that any claim against a governmental entity in California must be filed within six months of the accident or injury.