Roadway Defect & Signage Hazard
When roadways are not properly maintained and innocent motorists are seriously injured or killed as a result, the responsible parties must be held accountable. Langdon & Emison, one of the nation’s pre-eminent law firms, has a proven track record of successfully litigating cases nationwide involving serious injuries and deaths caused by defective roadways. Our deep experience and strong record of success in litigating roadway defect cases is demonstrated in the following case examples.
Featured Cases
The Featured Cases below demonstrate our success as trial attorneys and the multi-million and million-dollar verdicts we have obtained for our clients in courtrooms across the country. The list also illustrates our deep experience and expertise across an array of personal injury litigation.
Pavement Edge Drop-off, Rittel v. Confidential Defendant
Langdon & Emison resolved a complex personal injury case involving an auto accident in Missouri that was caused by unsafe highway construction practices. In this case, the driver’s right front tire dropped off a 4-inch asphalt ledge, which had been left by the defendant during the process of resurfacing the highway.
As a result, our client lost control of her vehicle and swerved into the opposite lane of traffic, which was still under construction and was about 1-inch lower in height than our client’s original travel lane. When our client tried to correct the vehicle to return to her lane of traffic, she lost control and the vehicle overturned two times before coming to a rest on its right side in the grass. Our client sustained severe and permanent injuries that ultimately rendered her quadriplegic.
Pavement Edge Drop-off, Kozak v. Civil Constructors, Inc.
Our client Ira Kozak was traveling on his motorcycle with a Chicago-area Harley Owners Group on U.S. Route 20, a four-lane highway in Stephenson County, Ill, that was under construction. Mr. Kozak unknowingly approached a pavement edge drop-off of 2-3 inches, but no work was being done; no workers or machinery were in the area; and no edge lines or signage delineated the location of the drop-off.
When Mr. Kozak hit the drop-off, he initially wobbled and then left the roadway, flipping end-over-end several times. He suffered severeand permanent orthopedic injuries to his entire body as well as a traumatic brain injury. Langdon & Emison’s legal team reached a significant confidential settlement with the company hired by the Illinois Department of Transportation to make the highway repairs.
Inadequate Construction Zone Signage, Quint v. C. S. & W. Contractors, Inc. et al.
Langdon & Emison obtained a confidential settlement on behalf of Kevin Quint, an Arizona man who was severely injured in an accident due to inadequate signage in a highway construction zone. Kevin was driving to work one morning when he came upon construction on a two-way divided road that was barricaded. Traffic was being funneled to the inside lane at the point in the roadway where a 6-inch raised median jetted out into the travel lane; however, there were no markings, lighting or signage to alert traffic of the raised median.
Kevin’s left front tire made contact with the raised median, causing him to lose control of his vehicle, flip and cross the opposite lanes of traffic. Despite wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, Kevin suffered severe and permanent injuries, rendering him paraplegic.
Improper Signage Installation Case: Taff v. Confidential Defendant, Confidential Settlement
Langdon & Emison successfully recovered a substantial settlement for Jacob Taff, a teenager who was catastrophically injured when his vehicle went into a grass median and struck a highway sign post that did not break away from his vehicle as intended. Because the sign was installed backwards – in the opposite direction of highway traffic – the sign post snapped down toward his vehicle, crushing the roof of Jacob’s truck and paralyzing him.
Langdon & Emison’s legal team successfully argued that, had the signpost been properly installed, it would have broken away as intended. The case was settled with the highway design consultant that selected the type and location of the sign post; the general contractor for the highway project; and the signing subcontractor involved in the installation.
