Can I Sue the City If My Car Was Damaged By a Pothole?

Sometimes potholes or other poor road conditions can cause vehicle damage, or even a car accident. When the government's failure to properly maintain a road leads to damage to your car, you might be able to get compensation, but there are special rules (and deadlines) for making this kind of claim against the government, so you typically need to act fast.

What Kinds of Road Conditions Can Cause Vehicle Damage?

The kinds of poor road conditions that are most likely to cause damage to your vehicle include:

• potholes
• missing barriers and guardrails
• shoulder drop-offs
• uncleared ice and snow
• poor road design
• wheel ruts
• unsafe construction zones (see below), and
• "oil and chip" (a temporary fix for roads that gets slippery if it sits too long).

What Kinds of Vehicle Damage Can Potholes Do?

When your vehicle hits a pothole, there's a wide range of damage possibilities, including:

• tire puncture or blowout
• bent or cracked wheels or rims
• suspension damage
• misalignment
• steering system damage
• axle damage, and
• undercarriage damage (including to the muffler and exhaust system).

Car Damaged by Pothole: Who Is Liable?

Roads are typically maintained by cities, counties, and states. If your car is damaged because a road or highway is in bad shape, you can probably file a claim against the government, asking for compensation.

In order to win your claim, you'll need to show that the government failed to safely and reasonably maintain the road. Governments generally discover dangerous road conditions in one of two ways:

• through individuals reporting a dangerous condition, and
• by conducting regular surveys of the roadways.

Sometimes it's the government's attempt to fix a road—road construction—that leads to accidents and vehicle damage.

You Probably Need to Show the Government Knew About the Pothole

If you are going to make a successful claim against the government for damage to your vehicle caused by poor road conditions, you will have to prove that the government was negligent. In other words, you'll have to prove:

• the government knew about the poor road condition (or should have reasonably known about it), and
• the government did not repair the poor road condition within a reasonable amount of time.

For example, let's say a giant pothole develops on a downtown street in your city. An online news story includes dozens of comments by local drivers who are complaining about it, and people have expressed concern about the pothole at city council meetings. But the pothole remains, untouched, for six months. If your vehicle is damaged by the pothole, you'll have a strong claim against the city because city officials knew about the pothole and had a reasonable amount of time to fix it.

On the other hand, if a well-maintained tree falls unexpectedly and hits your parked car, the government (city or county depending on where you were parked) probably won't be on the hook for damages. The tree was well-maintained and the government had no reasonable reason to remove it before it fell—the damage was caused by an accident, not negligence.

How to Make a Claim for Pothole Damage

The first thing you'll want to do is gather information to get your claim started. You'll need:

• the name of the road and direction you were traveling
• the exact location of the damaged road or hazard
• names and contact information of any witnesses, and
• physical characteristics of the road or hazard (like size and depth of a pothole—take pictures if you can).

Next, you'll need to figure out which government agency is responsible for maintaining the road in question. Local roads are usually maintained by a city or county. State governments (often with federal and local government assistance) maintain highways. The federal government is responsible for the federal highway system and interstates.

If you're not sure whether it's the city, county, state, or federal government that is legally responsible for maintaining the road where your vehicle was damaged, you can't go wrong with sending a claim to as many governmental entities as possible.

Special Rules for Claims Against the Government

Every state has special rules for claims and lawsuits against the government. You can't sue the government at all over some actions (or inactions). But you typically can sue the government for failing to maintain roads. First, you have to file a special claim (sometimes called an "administrative claim" or "notice of claim") with the agency before you can file a civil lawsuit in court.

The claim-filing process varies from agency to agency, but you often have a short window to notify the government in writing of what happened and how much compensation you want. For example, in California, you have six months to file a special claim for property damage or personal injury in most situations. If you miss the window, you lose your right to make a claim or file a lawsuit.

The city, county, or state government might have its own claim form for you to complete, or they might just maintain a list of the required information. Start by doing an online search for "claim against [city/county/state] government."

Once you submit your claim, the government has a certain amount of time to respond (for example, 45 days for most claims in California). The government might agree to pay you some or all of the money damages you demanded, and you might not need to go to court. If the government rejects your claim or doesn't respond at all within a certain timeframe, you have a set amount of time to file a lawsuit in court.

Get the details on claims against the government in your state.

Proving Your Pothole Damage Claim

Chances are, the government isn't going to send you a check for your vehicle damage just because you make a claim. As we mentioned above, you usually have to prove that:

• the government knew about the roadway problem or poor condition, and
• didn't repair it within a reasonable amount of time.

In some situaitons, the government might admit it had knowledge of the road's poor condition. If not, you have a couple of options:

Request Survey Records. Government agencies conduct regular surveys to check for poor road conditions. You can request these records. Examine them and determine whether someone previously located the poor road condition that caused your vehicle damage.

Do Your Own Investigation. If you can't prove the government knew about the road condition, you'll have to prove that the government should have known about it, which will take some leg work. You will have to investigate the area. Try to interview people who live nearby and request police reports documenting all accidents in the area.

Does Insurance Cover Vehicle Damage From Potholes?

If your car hits a pothole and gets damaged, the key type of car insurance that typically comes into play here is collision coverage.

Collision coverage applies to most situations where your vehicle is damaged while you're driving—not just crashes with other vehicles—and you're covered no matter who was at fault.

Keep in mind that any claim you make under your collision coverage will almost certainly include a deductible, meaning an amount you'll need to pay before your coverage kicks in. Once you pay your deductible, your insurance company is obligated to pay the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle, up to your collision coverage limits. Learn more about how collision coverage works.

Report the Incident and Talk to a Lawyer

Whether or not you decide to make a claim, you should report the poor road condition. There is a good chance you will help prevent the poor condition from causing damage to someone else's vehicle. You may even help prevent someone from being seriously injured.

If your car was damaged because of poor road conditions, you might want to talk to a lawyer. A lawyer can help you decide if you have a claim against the government, and whether it's worth pursuing. Learn more about when you might need an injury lawyer.