Boston Shoulder Drop Off Accident Lawyer

When a shoulder drop off is improperly tapered or too steep, the edge of the road is neither well maintained nor the same level as the rest of the road surface.

A shoulder drop off can be easily avoided if the roads are properly maintained to begin with. Sometimes shoulders are left unfinished and too steep during road construction because the crew intends to fix it later. When this occurs, however, signs or flaggers should be at work alerting drivers to the steep shoulder drop off.

If you have been in an accident because of a poor shoulder drop off, you should not be penalized when it was the city or state that did not maintain the roads correctly. A Boston shoulder drop off accident lawyer can help you determine who was responsible for the shoulder and hold them accountable.

How Does a Shoulder Drop Off Lead to an Accident?

Every driver has to pull over to the side of the road for one reason or another at some point. When the driver then tries to reenter traffic, he or she needs to get up to speed quickly to merge into oncoming traffic.

As the wheels hit an improperly made drop off, they may go in the wrong direction because of the steep angle and mismatched road levels. This can lead to a car accident that would have been entirely preventable if simple maintenance had been followed.

Gathering Evidence

After your accident, take as many detailed pictures as possible of the shoulder drop off that you hit.

When the police arrive, be certain to point out the poorly tapered shoulder drop off in your statement. If the officer agrees that the shoulder drop off was to blame, this will also go into the report.

Having this report will be invaluable to your case later in the process when it is time establish fault.

Establishing Fault

In order to prove your case, it will be necessary to show that unsafe conditions ultimately resulted in your accident. This is because Massachusetts has a contributory negligence law, which means you can be held liable for a percentage of the damages caused if the judge finds that you were partially to blame for the accident.

By showing that the road and its construction were responsible, we can take the blame off you and make sure the liability is placed on the appropriate parties. This will help offset any costs and make sure you get the compensation you deserve.

Get Help from a Boston Lawyer Today

Poor road maintenance and poorly tapered shoulders simply shouldn’t happen. The accidents they cause are 100 percent preventable, so anytime you suffer an injury or damages due to a shoulder drop off, you should seek financial compensation for the other party’s irresponsibility.

Speak with a Boston injury lawyer by calling the Law Offices of Joel H. Schwartz at 617-742-1170.