Criminal Defense

you often hear of new york city’s “pothole’ law which may make the city responsible for damages if one is injured because of a defective sidewalk on a street. But the city or other municipalities may also be responsible for injuries because of the way they designed the road. Here is a real-life example showing the standard some courts rely upon in deciding whether a city or other public agency should pay damages for injuries.

debbie (not her real name) was driving her car on a bridge when she was cut off by another vehicle. She swerved and went into the oncoming lanes where she was hit broadside by another car and sent catapulting over the side of the bridge, landing on the ground below and sustaining very sedate and serious internal injuries. You don’t need to be a highway engineer to realize that had there been a median barrier. Debbie would have been deflected back to her side of the road and thus would have avoided the collision in the oncoming din and traffic lanes. Debbie sued the state of new york, the owner of the bridge. During pre-trial proceedings it was learned from reviewing state documents, years before debbie’s accident, experts recommended that a median barrier be put on the bridge to prevent future accidents because of frequent “cross-over incidents”. As a result of those internal state documents, the judge in the court of claims (where cases against the state are tried) found the state liable and awarded debbie substantial money damages for her injuries. The muncipal liability case was appealed and our highest court in the state said municipalities, in cases like debbie’s, have a responsibility to review their roadway designs to make sure they are safe.