hearty-raven-9875/17/2026

Can the county be liable if a broken signal light caused my crash?

So this happened to me a few weeks ago and I'm still trying to wrap my head around whether I even have a case beyond just dealing with the other driver's insurance.

I was coming through a busy intersection — four lanes, really high-traffic area — and the signal light on my side was basically non-functional. Not blinking yellow or anything that would signal caution, just completely dark. There was also a massive delivery truck idling near the curb that blocked my view of the other signals at that intersection, so I genuinely had no way to tell the light had changed.

I proceeded through what I believed was a green, got T-boned by someone coming the other direction. Airbags deployed, my car is totaled, and I've got a pretty gnarly shoulder injury that's going to need physical therapy for months.

Here's where my head is at: I've seen that intersection have issues before — I drive through it almost every day for work. I feel like the county or city or whoever is responsible for maintaining those lights had to have known it was a problem.

Is there any way to pursue the municipality for not maintaining the signal?
Does the fact that the delivery truck was blocking the other lights factor into anything?
How does this affect fault determination with the other driver's insurance?

I already reported the accident to my insurance but I haven't given any recorded statements yet. I don't even know where to start with the idea that a government agency might share some responsibility here.

Has anyone dealt with anything like this? Feeling really overwhelmed and my shoulder is killing me.

9 replies

Most helpful first

silent-stoat-9695/17/2026
Oh man, I had something weirdly similar happen near a construction zone where the temporary signals were totally out of sync. What I learned the hard way is that claims against a city or county are a completely different animal than a normal car accident claim — there are usually super short windows to file a formal notice before you can even sue. Like sometimes as short as 60-90 days depending on where you are. I'd look into that ASAP before anything else.
brave-crow-9775/17/2026
Not legal advice, but what you're describing — a malfunctioning government-maintained signal combined with a documented history of issues — is exactly the kind of thing that can support a claim against a municipality. The key is proving they had notice of the problem and failed to fix it. Maintenance logs, prior complaint records, even your own testimony about seeing it malfunction before can matter. The timeline for filing against a government entity is often much shorter than a standard personal injury claim, so don't wait on this.
wise-marten-5745/17/2026
From where I used to sit, the moment there's any possible government liability in a claim, the private insurance side gets really interesting. Adjusters will sometimes use the 'shared fault' angle to lowball you — basically implying you should have known to stop even with a dark signal. Don't let them put all the fault on you just because the other driver had a green. The truck blocking the other signals is actually a really important detail — document everything about where it was parked if you haven't already.
calm-newt-9625/17/2026
Please do not give a recorded statement yet. I cannot stress this enough. Adjusters are trained to ask questions in ways that get you to say something that sounds like you're accepting fault. 'So you proceeded through the intersection even though you weren't 100% sure of the signal?' Sounds innocent, feels like a trap.
gentle-swift-0995/17/2026
Shoulder injuries from T-bone impacts are really common and they can be deceptive — you might feel like it's manageable now and then inflammation sets in over the next few weeks and it gets significantly worse. Make sure you're seeing a doctor regularly and getting everything documented. Don't downplay symptoms to your medical team even if you feel pressure to just 'push through it.' Your medical records are going to matter a lot for any claim.
- tidy-mole-0075/17/2026
  A few practical things worth doing right now: 1) Take photos or video of that intersection, especially the signal and any obstructions — do it soon because conditions change. 2) Submit a public records request for maintenance logs on that specific signal. Most municipalities have a process for this and it's often free. 3) Check if anyone else has filed complaints about that light — sometimes that info is in city council meeting minutes or 311 call logs. Building a paper trail that the problem was known is usually central to this kind of case.
clever-vole-8055/17/2026
I'm so sorry you're going through this on top of recovering from an injury. That sounds incredibly stressful. Please make sure you're not trying to handle all of this alone — even just talking to someone who knows this area of law could take a huge weight off your shoulders (no pun intended 💙).
bright-vole-5125/17/2026
Not trying to be harsh but I want to make sure I understand the situation — was the light fully dark/out, or just hard to see? Because those are treated pretty differently. Also, were there any witnesses around? Because your account of where the delivery truck was parked is going to be really important and a lot harder to prove without corroboration.
steady-vole-6255/17/2026
The fact that you already know to hold off on recorded statements and that you're asking these questions now — before you've made any missteps — honestly puts you in a better position than a lot of people in similar situations. A lot of folks don't figure this stuff out until they've already said something they regret. You're ahead of the curve, even if it doesn't feel like it.