Dallas Work Zone Accident Attorney

Over the past few years, motorists in Dallas and all across Texas have gotten used to seeing work zones on roadways and highways. “A work zone is an area undergoing construction, maintenance, or utility-related repairs of the road or highway,” explains our Dallas car accident attorney at Law Office of Dorothy Hyde.

Typically, these work zones are surrounded by signs and barriers, the combination of which help prevent car accidents in the area by slowing down traffic or redirecting vehicles where roadway construction work involves planned road closures.

Who’s to blame for a work zone accident?

Work zones are responsible for hundreds of thousands of car crashes in the U.S. each year. In fact, statistics show that approximately 700 people die and 40,000 others are injured in work zone accidents.

Those of you who think that negligence on the part of construction companies conducting roadway construction work and repairs are always to blame for causing work zone car accidents, this is not entirely true. In fact, statistically speaking, driver error is the leading cause of motor vehicle accidents in work zones.

Types of car accidents in work zones

There can be literally hundreds of different causes of car crashes in work zones, but it’s no wonder why work zones are considered high-risk areas for car accidents in Dallas and all across Texas. After all, when you have signs, barriers, and heavy construction equipment blocking the driver’s view combined with hundreds or thousands of vehicles trying to make their way through the work zone, there’s no going around the fact that car crashes are going to happen.

Types of car crashes in work zones vary greatly, but the most common ones are:

• Head-on collisions which occur when vehicles travel on the wrong side of the road
• Side-impact collisions when one of the vehicles attempts to perform an illegal U-turn to avoid having to wait for hours to drive through the work zone and
• Rear-end accidents which occur when one of the vehicles follows another too closely behind or gets distracted.

There are also many work zone car crashes in which vehicles collide with objects such as heavy construction equipment, signage, barricades and barriers, construction materials, water and sand barrel crash cushions, and many more.

Liability for work zone accident (driver negligence vs. construction company negligence)

Some of you may wonder, “When can another motorist be held liable for a work zone accident?” Generally, car accidents in work zones can be divided into two types: collisions caused by driver error and collision caused by negligence on the part of the construction company.

The other motorist may be held liable for a work zone accident if he or she:

• Failed to maintain a safe distance
• Got distracted in slow traffic
• Unsafely changed lanes
• Performed an illegal U-turn
• Exceeded the posted speed limit
• Ignored traffic signs and signals
• Unsafely merged into other lanes or
• Operated the vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

As you can see, this is a non-exclusive list of driving errors that cause work zone accidents. It’s advised to let a Dallas work zone accident attorney review your particular case to determine liability and ensure that you are getting the maximum compensation you deserve.

There are also many cases in which motorists are able to hold the construction company liable for their work zone car accident. You may be able to sue the construction company if that company:

• Failed to properly and safely set up a work zone site
• Failed to warn motorists of upcoming safety hazards in the work zone
• Failed to safely operate construction equipment
• Failed to clearly show which lanes are open and which ones are closed
• Failed to use adequate warning lights to let motorists see safety hazards at night, and
• Failed to maintain the work zone site free of unreasonable safety hazards.

You may want to schedule a free consultation with our Dallas car accident lawyers from Law Office of Dorothy Hyde by calling at (214) 883-1700 to determine liability and the value of your damages and losses.