Langdon & Emison attorney Mark Emison published an article recently on establishing liability in roadway signage cases. The article, “Signage and Traffic Control Defects in Catastrophic Injury Cases,” appeared in the 2016 Winter Edition of AIEGVoice, a publication of the Attorneys Information Exchange Group.
Appropriate signage and traffic control methods can be the difference between life or death, particularly if motorists are not given sufficient notice of a hazard or roadway change and fail to perceive and react to unexpected changes.
To safely navigate a construction zone or lane change, appropriate and well-placed signage is critical. Emison’s article describes real case examples involving two common issues in signage and traffic control cases include:
· Traffic control methods that fail to provide motorists proper notice of hazards or changes in the roadway.
· Improper placement and installation of traffic control methods and signage.
According to Emison, sometimes crash reports only scratch the surface and fail to mention signage or road construction issues, making it the actual cause of the crash or injury unclear. A crash in or near a construction zone should raise a red flag to those injured or to attorneys during the screening process.
A critical first step in evaluating traffic control and signage cases is to document the condition of the roadway at the time of the crash, due in part to the daily changes in roadway conditions and traffic control circumstances in construction areas.
If the initial screening warrants further investigation, Emison advises to obtain a highway construction traffic control plan and any contracts or subcontracts related to the road construction. He also recommends consulting federal and state highway design manuals to determine if standards for traffic control were followed.
“Roadway signage cases can be good cases and provide additional avenues for obtaining a recovery for your clients,” Emison said. “Any case involving a catastrophic injury should be evaluate for roadway and signage hazards that could have caused or contributed to a crash, or enhanced the resulting injuries.” Read the full article.
About Mark Emison
Mark Emison is a trial attorney at Langdon & Emison where he devotes his practice to representing clients and families who have suffered a catastrophic injury or death. Mark services clients across the country in cases involving defective products, trucking accidents, roadway and signage defects and other instances of negligence and wrongful death. In 2016, Mark was recognized as one of Missouri’s top lawyers Under 40 and was honored for his work in personal injury litigation as well has his pro bono work on the Michael Politte wrongful conviction case.
About Langdon & Emison
Langdon & Emison is recognized as one of the nation’s leading personal injury law firm, having taken on some of the world’s largest corporations on behalf of injured people and their families in courtrooms from coast to coast. Langdon & Emison represented the plaintiff in Baker vs. General Motors, a landmark lawsuit where for the first time evidence was admitted into court proving an automaker’s deliberate choice of profits over human safety. With offices in Lexington and Kansas City (Mo.), St. Louis, and Chicago, the firm has earned a national reputation as a leader in auto defect cases, trucking accidents and a full array of personal injury litigation.