Poor Sidewalk Designs Can Lead To Wheelchair Accidents

Getting around in a wheelchair is often not nearly as easy as it should be, and the design of a sidewalk and a roadway can certainly lead to an accident. This could be incredibly serious, so it’s important to know what hazards to watch out for when you’re traveling.

Even one small issue can quickly spiral out of control. For instance, imagine that you arrive at a street and there is no curb cut — the small ramp that connects the sidewalk to the street. As such, you can’t get down onto the street to cross without potentially tipping into the road.

To get around it, you’re forced to backtrack to the nearest driveway. Using a driveway as a curb cut is already risky because someone could leave or enter the driveway in their car without seeing you, but you feel you have no choice. You go down the driveway and into the street.

At this point, you realize how many potholes there are in the poorly-maintained asphalt. You’re forced into the middle of the road to get around them. Not only that, but you now have to drive down the street for twenty yards, in the middle of the traffic lane, to cross the opposing street and reach yet another driveway, where you can finally get back up onto the sidewalk.

It doesn’t take much to see how hazardous a situation this can be. It puts you in serious danger and you could be struck by a car or injured while leaving or regaining the sidewalk. All told, that design, which clearly did not take your needs into consideration, massively increases your risks of injury.  If you do get hurt, make sure you know what legal options you have. You have the right to ask for compensation when your injuries are caused by neglect or poor design.