Does anyone know of any cases where someone has tried to get a city or town to pay for this damage, successful or unsuccessful?
2007-06-18 12:04:15 · 8 answers · asked by DaveS 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
It's very hard to sue a municipality for a pothole. What you'd have to do is to prove they knew about it before you had a problem. In some big cities, activists send registered letters to the town notifying them of potholes. If such a group is active in your town, speak to them. Otherwise, all you can do is file a claim and hope for the best.
2007-06-18 12:13:34 · answer #1 · answered by anywherebuttexas 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This happened to me. I hit a real crater going down an unlit country road at night. It blew out my tyre and I careered into undergrowth, all at gone midnight! £900 of damage. Yes, the local council has a responsibility to maintain the roads in a fit state to avoid danger to road users, to whom they owe a duty of care. And if they don't they are negligent and are liable. The term you should use in your letters etc., is "defect in the highway". The first thing to do is to take pictures of the hole and carefully note its location and all the dates etc. The second is to get details of the repairs that were needed by virtue of the invoice from the garage and make sure you can link the damage to hitting the pothole at the given time (i.e. by a recovery firm's reports). Then you contact the council concerned and say you are claiming for the damage. They will send you a form (and it will all be handled by their legal department). You've got an even better case if you go back to the site and find they've repaired it - this is tantamount to an admission that there was a fault. They might send you leaflets saying how impoverished they are and that all claims made take important respurces away from maintaining the roads - rubbish, they all have a fighting to meet these claims and you are owed. If your case is watertight they will admit liability but you might have to wait ages for your cheque (mine took several months to elicit, numerous officious letters, and saw out four changes of personnel!). However if your case is weak and contestable they might do that (contest it). In which case you should get advice from your local Citizen's Advice Bureau and consider a Small Claim through the County Court. Rather than go to the costs of defending, for a reasonable modest claim they will just pay out and settle. Good luck!
2016-05-19 01:07:23 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know, but our city would be bankrupt if people could do that, we were voted one of the top 10 cities in Canada for potholes.
2007-06-18 12:12:42 · answer #3 · answered by Limestoner62 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My sister hit a pot hole and it ruined her tire. She threw a fit and the town paid for the damages. Then they fixed the hole. There was no going around this hole. I would try to get the town to pay. Good luck. :)
2007-06-18 12:18:13 · answer #4 · answered by Krissy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Let me hear what your saying? Sue City Hall? Are you wanting to be hounded by city code inspectors, police, parking violations. And have the city housing inspector come over for a good look see? of your house? I drive around pot holes and report them to the authorities.
2007-06-18 12:11:00 · answer #5 · answered by John Paul 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
avoid the road or slow down. go town coucil meetings and complain.
2007-06-18 12:09:26 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
you can try! good luck though.
2007-06-18 14:45:58 · answer #7 · answered by keith_19798@yahoo.com 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
cant fight city hall bro...
2007-06-18 12:08:30 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋