Articles Posted in Government Liability

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration, the purpose of a guardrail is to provide a safety barrier to shield motorists who leave the roadway. However, several prominent guardrail manufacturing companies have come under fire for defective products. Defective guardrails can pose serious dangers to New Hampshire motorists, passengers, and bystanders.

In the best-case scenario, a driver veering off the roadway would come to rest without colliding with any vehicle or object. However, many New Hampshire roadways abut embankments, slopes, trees, bridge piers, and utility poles. In these cases, a guardrail provides a stopping point that may be safer than the alternative. The guardrail can deflect a vehicle back to the roadway, slow the vehicle down to a complete stop, or slow down to a safer stopping point.

While federal safety experts do not claim that guardrails completely protect drivers and passengers, they are still responsible for ensuring that the guardrail is installed correctly and free of defects. Many factors, such as the size and speed of a vehicle, can affect how well a guardrail protects drivers. However, guardrails that contain serious defects can pose additional dangers to motorists.

Police throughout the country engage in high-speed chases every day. Many of these high-speed chases result in serious personal injury, death, and property damage. While many of these high-speed pursuits result in capturing a fleeing suspect, they often have serious consequences to New Hampshire motorists and bystanders. The law defines pursuits as instances when an on-duty officer in a patrol car is involved in an active attempt to apprehend one or more occupants of a moving vehicle. Although many law enforcement agencies maintain policies and procedures concerning high-speed chases, accidents continue to occur.

For example, national news reports recently reported that federal prosecutors announced that a police officer would be charged with second-degree murder, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice following the death of a 20-year-old. The 20-year-old died after his moped slammed into a car while officers were chasing him. The officers stated they were chasing the young man because he was riding his moped on the sidewalk without a helmet. The chase made its way into an alley, and when the moped driver emerged from the alley, he slammed into the passenger door of a passing vehicle. D.C. City police rules forbid high-speed chased over minor traffic violations. In addition to criminal charges, the officers may face civil claims from the deceased man’s family.

After a typical car accident, the negligent party’s conduct is measured against the “reasonable person” standard. However, under the civil system, law enforcement officers are viewed differently than ordinary citizens. In most cases, the law requires these parties to exercise reasonable care in their actions according to their unique training and abilities. Therefore, the degree of care they exercise while in the pursuit of a fleeing suspect must be appropriate relative to the circumstances at hand.