wrecked the SC, need free legal advice. :)

[BK911]

Couple of weeks ago I slid on some gravel in an unmarked construction zone and hit a guardrail.
The gravel covered both lanes at least 40' before the actual work zone.
County insurance company denied my claim.
Now I am thinking of suing the county.
Finding a lawyer is difficult and all want to be paid up front.
Not sure I am willing to risk losing more money.
Since I have to sue, I want to pile it on and hope to settle for enough to fix the car.
Repairs, diminished value, loss of use, ????

[Rot 911]

Those are not easy cases to win. The county is a governmental entity and has general immunity from these types of negligence lawsuits. First you would have to show that the county knew of the hazard, had time to correct the hazard and chose not to.

[jhynesrockmtn]

Sorry to see that. The car looks like it was beautiful. You'll need to find an attorney who knows the rules on construction and what mitigation they need to do related to cleaning up their site. You might get repair costs and diminished value but that may be mitigated if the car doesn't have original paint, etc. I think loss of use is a real stretch. They'll also come back at you with contributed negligence, driving too fast for conditions, that kind of thing.

I rode my MC to work Friday and was reminded how much gravel there is out there leftover from snow/ice season.

[Baz]

I'm no expert but what did YOUR insurance company say about this?

Usually they are the ones who can provide the best advice - for free.

Sorry about poor Brownie

[dad911]

Will your insurance cover it? Deductible will be less than legal fees, and your insurance co will chase the money if they think they have a claim.

IMHO it's going to be a hard uphill battle. Do you have a police report or can get expert testimony that will demonstrate you have 0% liability for accident?

Been through a few legal battles, it rarely makes sense to throw good money after bad.

[GWN7]

Wouldn't the fact the county never put signs up notifying drivers of the change in road conditions (from paved to gravel) have some bearing on their responsibility for the actions?

[UconnTim97]

Was the construction being done by the county or a private contractor?

[LakeCleElum]

What Kurt and Jerry Said.....Up in snow country, all of our roads have sand/gravel this time of year....Turn in insurance claim and pay the deductible.

[asphaltgambler]

My first question is did you call the po-po? They would have reviewed what happened and filed a report and possibly ticketed you. If no law was there to witness the scene ...........................you're out of luck

[porsche4life]

How fast were you going? I grew up in a rural area and always scanned the road and dialed the speed back if I wasn't sure what the surface ahead was... County roads change all the time, and the surface usually sucks.



You must not have a case, or some ambulance chaser would have taken it on contingency by now...

[1990C4S]

The county's defence will be that you are required to 'drive according to road conditions', and you must have been traveling to fast for the conditions. (being in a 911 does not help you in this case).

Did this happen at night? What does the accident report say?

You said 'finding a lawyer is difficult'. How so? Have you been turned down by some, and if so, on what basis?

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

You must not have a case, or some ambulance chaser would have taken it on contingency by now...

No personal injury claim means case has no chance of JACKPOT. Dollah, dollah bill yo

Pay your deductible, be glad it was not worse.

[BK911]

Happened on my way home from work, ~4:30pm.
Crested a hill and saw the construction work in the middle of a 90 left hander.
Hit brakes to slow down so I didnt hit gravel in the middle of the turn, but was already on the gravel.
Didn't notice the gravel because it started after the crest of a hill.
I was not speeding, in fact doing a bit below the speed limit.
Any forensic engineer can determine my speed from the crush on the car.
Do not have full coverage insurance.
This is on me to repair if the county doesn't help.
I sent pics to the state and they said it was a slam dunk since they are responsible for marking and maintaining the construction zones.
But they can't help because it was on a county road.
County did the construction not a contractor.
I have to try.

[BK911]

Police said I would get 2 points if I filed a report, so I didn't file.

[Craig T]

First, I'm very sorry that this happened to you and your car.

Pay your insurance deductible and get Brownie fixed. That is your only recourse.

All state driving laws have language written stating speed limits are contingent on road and weather conditions. Gravel on roads is a "driving condition" and does not need to be posted. As a previous poster replied, many northern states have gravel put down frequently and all roads.

A legal battle over this with the county is an expensive and futile proposition, and any expectation of a windfall (loss of value, etc), especially without personal injury involved, is hopeless.

Lawyers only take cases on a contingency when they know there is a case to win, or at least a quick settlement. Of course some lawyers will take it on an an hourly basis, with a nice little retainer at signing. be a smart legal consumer. Don't give your hard earned money to a lawyer over this.

[asphaltgambler]

^^^^^^^^^Well thar ya go^^^^^^ but let's say for the sake of argument that you found an attorney that would entertain this and he/she filed a claim against your state. Every state differs in what is called "contributing negligence" (that would be to what degree you contributed to the accident) In Va - we are 99 / 1. Which defined as if you are proven to be just 1 % contributing negligence; read - at fault, there is no award / restitution.

Really only path is to have your insurance company make you 'whole' again and find someone who will repair that car correctly.

[fastfredracing]

Man, hate to pile on you , and sorry about your car, I love brown on a 911, but what in the heck are you thinking, driving that around without full coverage on that car? Can you imagine how bad it would suck to have a total loss ?
I get paranoid about mine all the time , they are no longer 10k cars .
Rack it up to experience, and call hagerty, or american collectors after you get this all sorted out.
Bummer ...

[Craig T]

...Also, consider this. The county is going to estimate the number of cars that drove this road over the time the gravel was down. If you were the only car to hit the guardrail during that time...You have no case. If you can prove ten other cars hit the guardrail, you might have a case.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by BK911

Police said I would get 2 points if I filed a report, so I didn't file.

You are at fault, or there wouldn't be a 2 pt assessment. W/o a police report, a judge is not likely to rule in your favor. Either way, you are screwed.

[Craig T]

Originally Posted by BK911

Do not have full coverage insurance.
This is on me to repair if the county doesn't help.

OUCH! Just saw that. I'm sorry BK911. Not having full coverage does make this a painful experience.