Indianapolis Lack of Signs Attorney

Warning signs are extremely important aspects of safe road design in Indiana. When signs are missing or insufficient to warn about dangerous conditions, the lack of guidance can lead to traffic collisions causing serious injuries.

If you have been hurt in a car accident due to insufficient, confusing, or missing traffic signs, contact the attorneys at Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC. The government agency or contractor responsible for designing or maintaining the road may be liable for your injuries. Our attorneys can file a personal injury lawsuit against government entities, road construction contractors, or other liable parties to seek the compensation you deserve after a vehicle crash related to a faulty or missing road sign.

How Missing Road Signs Lead to Accidents in Indianapolis

In addition to regulatory signs, such as stop signs and yield signs, road signs also provide crucial warnings to motorists about roadway hazards and other potentially dangerous driving conditions, such as:

Dangerous intersections
Environmental hazards (for example, falling rocks, high winds, or flooding potential)
Lane closures or terminations
Merging traffic
Limited visibility
Sharp turns
Slippery pavement
Construction zones
Animal crossings
Steep grades
Bridges prone to freezing
Trucks entering roadways
Railroad crossings
Traffic conditions
Road conditions

Without this information, drivers could become confused and fail to anticipate conditions on the road. When signs are incorrect, damaged, removed, or never installed in the first place, it can significantly increase the risk of serious accidents. For instance, if drivers are unaware that a sharp turn is around the bend, they may take it too quickly and cause an accident. Similarly, an incorrectly placed sign might confuse drivers and cause them to turn the wrong way down a one-way street, causing a collision.

Legal Liability for Crashes Due to Missing or Damaged Road Signs

The critical question is: Who is liable for accidents due to missing or insufficient road signage?

In general, the entity that is responsible for designing, building, and maintaining the road can be liable for any accidents due to inadequate or missing signs. In most cases, this entity is the government agency that owns, builds, and maintains the roads and can include any contractors or designers they hired for the project.

Governments are responsible for providing road information so that drivers can remain safe. When a government body fails to supply the requisite information, it can be considered negligent. In the case of a private road, such as in a gated community or a parking lot, the road’s owner can be responsible for accidents due to inadequate signage.

Parties such as construction companies that put up road signs to modify traffic can also be liable if their lack of signage causes an accident. If a construction crew does not have adequate signage to divert traffic around a work zone, the construction company could be liable for resulting accidents. Parties that remove road signs illegally, such as an individual stealing a stop sign, may share criminal and civil liability for any accidents that occur as a result.

Compensation for Injuries Caused by a Lack of Proper Signage

Lack-of-signage accidents can cause catastrophic injuries that are expensive to treat and leave victims unable to work. By filing a personal injury claim, you can demand money for the harm you’ve suffered as a result of the lack of road signs, including:

Medical bills for emergency and future medical expenses related to injuries from the car accident
Lost income, including hourly pay or salary, commissions, tips, bonuses, and other employment compensation
Reduced lifetime earning capacity due to your injuries
Physical pain and conscious suffering
Quality-of-life impairment
Wrongful death benefits after fatal accidents
Property damage

An attorney from Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC can analyze the extent of your losses and calculate an adequate compensation figure that would reimburse your expenses and secure financial stability while you recover and heal.

How to Prove Negligence in Traffic Sign Accident Cases

Proving a road sign negligence claim is difficult simply due to the nature of a lack-of-signage accident. It can be challenging to prove that a lack of something caused an accident. But challenging doesn’t mean impossible. Our skilled car accident attorneys know how to investigate an inadequate signage accident and what types of evidence are most convincing to show negligence.

In the case of inadequate signage accidents, the relevant evidence establishing liability might include:

Photos and videos of the accident scene
Physical evidence
Original road designs and blueprints
Records of road maintenance and redesign efforts
Witness statements on the lack of signage
History of past accidents at the location
Expert witness testimony on industry standards
Similar past improper signage cases

These types of evidence can demonstrate that the responsible party showed a lack of care or disregard for established safety standards when designing or maintaining road signs.

The Importance of Hiring an Indianapolis Lack of Signs Lawyer

Improper road sign car accidents are complicated and best pursued by experienced personal injury lawyers. These cases typically involve multiple parties involved in road design, construction, and maintenance. Without an attorney on your side, it can be hard to identify everyone who might have played a role in causing your injuries. Our attorneys are prepared to investigate your case and identify every liable entity to maximize available compensation.

Additionally, lack-of-signage cases often involve government agencies. Government entities in Indiana have partial immunity from civil liability for accidents due to road design (IC 34-13-3-3(18)), and there are strict time limits and notification requirements for suing government agencies or their employees. Our experienced personal injury attorneys know how to meet these requirements to keep your lawsuit on track.

Get Help from Our Indianapolis Car Accident Lawyers Now

Warning sign negligence claims are a unique form of car accident lawsuit that brings special challenges. These challenges require a knowledgeable legal approach. The attorneys at Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC are equipped to meet the challenges of improper signage injury cases to pursue every dollar you’re entitled to recover.

We have decades of collective experience fighting for accident victims and have received numerous awards and professional recognition for our services. We are proud of our dedication and will not rest until we have investigated every potential avenue for recovering the compensation you need to move forward with life.