Can Bad Road Infrastructure Be To Blame For Car Accidents?

If the idea that poorly maintained roads can damage your car surprises you, you have never been to South Carolina.  The cost of living may be lower here than it is in most places in the United States, but all the potholes in the road can mess up your car, and the cost of repairs can add up.  Besides that, there is little public transportation, so you have no choice but to drive on roads that could use a makeover.  In car accident claims, insurance companies try to figure out what percentage of fault for the accident belongs to which parties.  Usually, the fault belongs entirely to one or more drivers, but other responsible parties can include bars that served alcohol to the drunk driver who caused the accident, or even the business or public entity responsible for an area of road where there was a preventable hazard.  If you have been injured in an accident where the poor condition of the road was a contributing factor, contact a Columbia car accident lawyer.

South Carolina Department of Transportation Pays Settlement to Family of Woman Whose Car Fell in Gap Between Road and Bridge

A bridge on Highway 165 southbound in Charleston County has long been a source of annoyance for residents.  There is a noticeable gap between the end of the roadway and the beginning of the bridge; the gap has been there for years, and it is not getting any smaller.  The gap is rough on cars; mechanics are familiar with complaints about how the gap has messed up the undercarriage of their customers’ cars.

For Robin Gaster, the gap by the Highway 165 bridge was more than an annoyance.  When she drove over it one day in May 2019, the car fell into the gap, breaking the struts.  Gaster suffered injuries serious enough to require surgery.  She filed a lawsuit against the South Carolina Department of Transportation in 2021.

In September 2024, the South Carolina Insurance Reserve Fund paid a settlement of more than $45,000 in Gaster’s case.  Gaster had died while the lawsuit was pending; the cause of her death was not related to the injuries she suffered in the bridge accident.  Therefore, the settlement money went to her estate.

When a plaintiff dies while a personal injury lawsuit is pending, the plaintiff’s estate can replace him or her as a party in the lawsuit.  The plaintiff’s estate must remain open in probate court long enough for the estate to receive the settlement money.  When the estate settles, the plaintiff’s heirs receive the money according to the instructions in the plaintiff’s will.  If the plaintiff did not write a will, then his or her relatives divide the settlement money, and the other assets in the estate, according to South Carolina’s laws of intestate succession.

Let Us Help You Today

The personal injury lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you pursue a complaint related to a car accident caused by dangerous road conditions.  Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.

Source:

live5news.com/2024/09/06/scdot-settles-lawsuit-over-gap-between-road-bridge-that-caused-injuries/