What to Do About Damaged and Dangerous Roadways in Your Neighborhood

What follows is a true story, with the names changed to protect the privacy of those involved.<br><br>Marlon Marion was injured in a bicycle accident that happened when he rode over a section of uneven pavement near his San Diego home. When his bicycle's front tire hit a deep and difficult-to-see groove caused by the street having suck an inch, the man went flying, and not in a good way. This type of street damage, which is caused by weather and other factors, is all too common in most cities.<br><br>This bicycle rider suffered fractures to many ribs, a shattered clavicle, and has more surgeries in his future as a result of injuries to his collarbone. Once a major San Diego newspaper published the story, the city took swift action to fix the problem. It seems that similar incidents had happened on a number of occasions. The city street division wasted no time in sending a crew to the scene of the accident to apply an asphalt coat to the bad pavement.<br><br>This story is interesting because it shows how a number of problems that cause dangerous situations for motorists, bicyclists or pedestrians on our roadways are those that can be easily fixed. In this example, a city only needed one day to fix something that had caused injuries on multiple occasions. So the question is, why had the repairs not been made sooner? Public safety must be a top priority for city administrators, especially when problems can be corrected quickly. There is more to public safety than just having police on the streets and firefighters to put out fires. Have safe roadways and sidewalks is part of that as well.<br><br>Cities or governmental bodies that are aware of a situation that is putting people in harm's way but fail to address the situation can be held liable for injuries or deaths. California Government Code allows for this in circumstances where the situation was known by a governmental agency, and when the situation could have been corrected at a reasonable time and expense. In the case of our injured bike rider, he is eligible to file a claim against the city of San Diego. The caveat is that such claims must be filed within six months of the injury.<br><br>Make your city officials aware of any situations like this that you know about. Make a note of the day and date you reported the damage and watch to see if it is fixed in a reasonable amount of time. As a pedestrian, it is not your job to fix roads and sidewalks, but as a good citizen it is your job to report dangerous situations to your local government. Doing so will help prevent future serious injuries, including your own. If you yourself are injured because of damaged roads or sidewalks, you have the right to seek legal assistance when dealing with the matter, and sometimes that may be necessary to get the local government to take action.

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