Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. V
I suspect the victims will "lawyer up" and if the damages warrant the expense they might, after investigation and legal research, file suit against whoever is responsible for maintaining the road, claiming unsafe design.
Some huge verdicts have come from such cases elsewhere, but I've no idea about how it would fly in NH.
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I'm sure the road design and maintenance conforms to standards, and filing suit against the state doesn't get you anywhere. Suing the design standards (ASHTO) will also go nowhere. Big verdicts come when there are deep pockets. Assuming fairly standard insurance coverage (100/300/50), that's the amount of money to be spread around. Collision coverage could apply to car damage and the building likely has structure and loss of use coverage. After that, the insurance companies will sort it out amongst themselves. In the extreme, the insurance company may offer $70K, your lawyer holds out for $140K. Two years later, you settle for $100K, the lawyer takes $30K and you get the $70K originally offered. Despite the TV commercials, it is not financially savvy for insurance companies to spend a lot on overhead trying to cheat you out of a few thousand dollars. Closing the case for a fair sum is in their best interest.