Auburn, AL Highway Construction Zone Collision Lawyers

Driving through a highway construction zone on I-85, Highway 280, or any of the busy local roads around Auburn, Alabama, requires heightened awareness. The landscape of the road changes abruptly—lanes narrow, concrete barriers appear, speed limits drop, and large construction vehicles merge with traffic. For a moment, the familiar route becomes a complex maze of orange cones and flashing lights. Most drivers navigate these zones safely, but it only takes one moment of distraction or one act of negligence to cause a devastating collision.

Accidents in highway work zones are not like other traffic incidents. They often involve unique hazards, multiple potentially responsible parties, and complex legal questions.

Why Are Highway Construction Zones Prone to Accidents?

A highway work zone is an inherently disruptive environment. It temporarily dismantles the predictable patterns of normal road travel, creating a situation ripe with potential for error. The presence of these combined factors is why these areas demand such caution from both drivers and the companies performing the work.

Key hazards that make these zones particularly dangerous include:

• Sudden and Frequent Traffic Stops: Traffic may slow or stop with little warning due to lane closures or equipment movement, leading to serious rear-end collisions.
• Narrowed and Shifting Lanes: Lanes may be narrower than standard and may shift without clear guidance, leaving little room for driver error.
• Confusing Signage or Lack of Warnings: Inadequate, poorly placed, or confusing signs can fail to give drivers enough time to react to changing conditions.
• Presence of Heavy Machinery: Large trucks, cranes, and paving equipment entering and exiting the flow of traffic create significant blind spots and potential for impact.
• Uneven Pavement and Road Debris: Milled surfaces, shoulder drop-offs, loose gravel, or construction materials left on the roadway can cause a driver to lose control.
• Poor Lighting for Night Work: Construction work performed at night can be especially hazardous if the area is not properly illuminated for both workers and drivers.
• Visual Distractions: The sheer amount of activity in a work zone—flashing lights, moving equipment, workers—can draw a driver’s attention away from the road ahead.

What Are the Common Causes of Construction Zone Collisions?

While the environment itself is hazardous, most work zone accidents are ultimately caused by a failure to exercise appropriate care. Identifying the specific cause is the first step in holding the at-fault party accountable.

Our experience shows these incidents often stem from one or more of the following factors:

Negligent Driving: This is the most frequent cause. It includes a range of dangerous behaviors that are magnified in a tight construction zone.

• Speeding: Ignoring reduced speed limits is a primary contributor, drastically cutting down reaction time.
• Distracted Driving: Texting, talking on the phone, or adjusting a radio takes a driver’s focus off the complex and rapidly changing environment.
• Following Too Closely: Tailgating leaves no margin for error when the vehicle ahead stops suddenly.
• Impaired Driving: Operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs severely impairs judgment and motor skills.
• Ignoring Traffic Signs and Flaggers: Disregarding the directions of traffic control devices or personnel can lead directly to a collision.

Construction Company Negligence: The companies performing the work have a duty to create a reasonably safe environment for the public. Failures in this duty can include:

• Improper Traffic Control Setup: Failing to use proper barriers, cones, and warning signs according to federal and state regulations.
• Inadequate Warning of Lane Changes or Closures: Not providing sufficient notice for drivers to safely navigate altered traffic patterns.
• Leaving Debris or Equipment in the Roadway: Creating road hazards that can cause accidents.
• Lack of Proper Training for Flaggers: Poorly trained or inattentive flaggers can give confusing or incorrect signals to drivers.

Commercial Truck Driver Error: Due to their size, weight, and large blind spots, commercial trucks pose a significant risk in cramped work zones. Errors include speeding, distraction, or failing to account for longer stopping distances.

Government Entity Liability: In some cases, the government agency overseeing the project (such as the Alabama Department of Transportation) may be liable for negligent design or planning of the work zone itself.

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Work Zone Injury?

Determining liability in a construction zone accident is often more complicated than in a standard two-car crash. Because multiple parties are operating in the same space, a thorough investigation may reveal that more than one entity shares responsibility.

Potential at-fault parties in a highway work zone claim can include:

• Another Driver: An individual who was speeding, texting, or otherwise driving negligently.
• The General Contractor: The primary construction company overseeing the project may be liable for overall safety failures or unsafe work zone design.
• A Subcontractor: A smaller company hired for a specific task, such as paving or electrical work, could be responsible if their specific actions created the hazard.
• An Engineering or Design Firm: The company that created the traffic control plans could be liable if the design itself was fundamentally unsafe.
• A Government Agency: A city, county, or state entity could be held responsible for failing to ensure the project was managed safely.
• An Equipment Manufacturer: If a collision was caused by the failure of a construction vehicle’s brakes or a defective traffic signal, the manufacturer could be at fault.

Successfully identifying all responsible parties is vital to ensuring you can recover the full compensation you need for your injuries and losses.

What Types of Compensation Are Available to Victims?

A serious work zone collision can result in immense physical, emotional, and financial burdens. Alabama law allows victims to pursue compensation for the full extent of their losses, which are typically categorized as follows:

Economic Damages: These are the tangible and calculable financial costs associated with the accident.

• Medical Expenses: Including all costs for emergency services, hospital stays, surgeries, physical therapy, medication, and any anticipated future medical care.
• Lost Wages: Compensation for the income you lost while unable to work during your recovery.
• Loss of Future Earning Capacity: If your injuries are permanent and prevent you from returning to your previous job or working at all, you can seek damages for the income you will lose over your lifetime.
• Property Damage: The cost to repair or replace your vehicle and any personal items damaged in the crash.

Non-Economic Damages: These damages are meant to compensate you for the intangible, personal losses that have a profound effect on your quality of life.

• Pain and Suffering: For the physical pain and discomfort caused by your injuries.
• Emotional Distress: For the anxiety, depression, fear, and trauma resulting from the accident.
• Scarring and Disfigurement: Compensation for permanent physical alterations.
• Loss of Enjoyment of Life: If your injuries prevent you from participating in hobbies, activities, and relationships you once valued.

Punitive Damages: In certain cases where the at-fault party’s behavior was especially reckless or wanton—such as a drunk driver speeding through a work zone—punitive damages may be awarded. These are not meant to compensate the victim but to punish the wrongdoer and deter others from similar conduct.

The Critical Role of Evidence in a Work Zone Claim

A successful claim depends on collecting and preserving strong evidence to prove what happened and who was at fault. Insurance companies and construction companies often begin their own investigations immediately, and it is important to have an advocate on your side doing the same for you.

Our legal team acts quickly to secure evidence before it is lost or destroyed, including:

• The Official Police Report: This provides the responding officer’s initial findings, diagrams, and any citations issued.
• Eyewitness Testimony: Statements from other drivers, passengers, and construction workers can be invaluable.
• Photos and Video Footage: We seek images of the final vehicle positions, property damage, skid marks, and the layout of the entire work zone, including the placement of signs and barriers. We also search for footage from traffic cameras, dashcams, or nearby surveillance systems.
• The Traffic Control Plan: We work to obtain the official plans that dictate how the work zone should have been set up, which can be compared against the actual conditions at the time of the crash.
• Accident Reconstruction: In complex cases, we may collaborate with engineering professionals who can analyze the evidence to scientifically reconstruct the sequence of events.
• Your Medical Records: These documents provide the essential link between the collision and the injuries you sustained.
• Vehicle “Black Box” Data: Event Data Recorders (EDRs) in modern vehicles can provide data on speed, braking, and steering in the moments leading up to the impact.

Protecting Your Rights After a Construction Zone Accident in Auburn

A collision in a work zone is more than a simple accident; it’s a failure of safety that can have lifelong consequences. You do not have to bear this burden alone. The dedicated personal injury attorneys at Haygood, Cleveland, Pierce, Thompson & Short, LLP are here to provide the steadfast legal support you need. We are committed to holding negligent parties accountable and pursuing the maximum compensation you are entitled to receive.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a highway construction zone collision in Auburn or the surrounding communities, we invite you to contact us at 334-560-1936 for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your case.