Commuters travelling along the Cross Bronx Expressway on January 13th narrowly avoided tragedy when tons of bricks broke free from the facade of a retaining wall and landed in the travel lane, narrowly missing cars. This wall collapse although not a typical example, is one of the dangers we and everyday commuters face on the roads and unsafe highways in New York City. Unfortunately, many bear the physical and emotional scars to prove it.
This latest collapse partially blocked the Major Deegan Expressway ramp and had traffic backed up for hours while crews worked to remove the rubble. The city is very lucky that nobody was hurt. The bricks could have easily crushed cars or forced oncoming automobiles into swerve into other lanes.
In the majority of car accidents in New York City, careless, reckless, or distracted drivers are usually at fault for the accident. In such cases, the vehicle owner and operator are responsible for paying the victim, compensation for pain and suffering, lost wages and medical expenses.
However, sometimes accidents are caused by unsafe highways in New York-highways that are built, maintained, and repaired by the city or state’s department of transportation. Poorly maintained road surfaces, unsafe bridges or overpasses, or-as in this case-highway retaining walls can all cause tragic accidents in New York City in a heartbeat.
If these unsafe conditions were known to the city and they failed to repair them in a timely fashion or they failed to keep drivers out of harm’s way or the roadway was improperly designed, the city itself could be found liable for accident victim’s injuries, medical expenses and lost wages incurred in the accident.
But getting the city to pay every cent an accident victim deserves can be difficult. If you’ve been injured in a crash caused by unsafe highways in New York, contact an experienced New York City auto accident attorney today.