Faulty Guardrail Contributed to Crash

I’m David Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

Today’s question comes from a caller who said he lost control of his pickup truck on a wet road surface and hit a guardrail. He says the guardrail gave way and he went right through it and down an embankment. He says he suffered injuries far greater than he would have had the guardrail been properly designed. He wanted to know if he could successfully sue.

The target defendants in a guardrail defect case will likely be the company that designed and engineered the guardrail, as well as the construction company that built the guardrail system.

A quick investigation suggested that the Department of Transportation, the construction firm, and an independent engineering firm, as part of a road project completed shortly before the crash, might have failed to use reasonable care in designing and constructing the guardrail.

Not surprisingly there are standards recognized across the nation that specify the size and type of guardrail system needed as well as the quality of materials which must be used.

The standards call for a guardrail to withstand specified impact forces, and to be able to redirect vehicles away from the area being guarded by the guardrail system.

While every guardrail is not required to be strong enough to withstand every crash, no matter the size, weight, and speed of the vehicle that may impact the guardrail, if the guardrail is not correctly designed or constructed, and if the failure of the guardrail contributed to causing enhanced injuries, the chance of prevailing in a lawsuit will be enhanced.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”