Has anyone had any success filing a claim with the city for damage done to a set of rims from a pothole? I hit a pretty deep pothole this afternoon and bent the crap out of one of my rims. I've heard of people making the city pay for the damages but don't really know where to start. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Step one is to take a shot of both the hole and the damaged wheel / tire so you have at least some visual proof.......then find a lawyer experienced in small-claims court. If you know the system and how to file the papers you may be able to do it yourself.

Interesting, though. I didn't know two things....first, that alloy rims COULD bend ( they usually break rather than bend ) and, second, that Southern California, with its semi-tropical climate and lack of snow and ice, HAD potholes.

We have some lawyers here on CL....any of you Johnny Cochrans want to give this poor soul some more experienced advice than I can?

 

You have to file what is called a Notice of Claim against the City/Town your in. Here in NYC, one has 90 days from the date of the occurence to file. Don't know the time limit in your jurisdiction. The purpose of a N.O.C is to give the municipality notice that you intend to bring an action against them. Once you do that, it gets the ball rolling. Don't let the time run out on filing or else it will be too late. A NOC is not an actual lawsuit. That comes after.

 

correct me if im wrong but you also have to get a police report here in NYC along with the photos and theyve been pretty good about getting ppl theyre money in the past

 

That is not needed in order to file a N.O.C. It is a good idea though to take photos of the damage to attach to it, as some cases are disposed of early.

 

Given California's budget problems I don't expect you to get far!

 

Dunno, bit.....if they don't repair that pothole ( and his car ) they're going to have a lot MORE problems. Would you rather have one claim against you or thousands?

 

Government tends to only react to crises so it will probably take thousands of claims for them to bother fixing it.

 

In Mexico City, I have known a few people that tried to sue the city and also in the nearby Mexico State for some damages to some big rims. However, concepts of proof south of the border screw over the plaintiff.

 

I also would like to know how approach this problem. A huge tree branch fell on my car many years back and made a big dent on the hood but I just let it go. I figured it was more trouble and it was worth.

The City would need some kind of concrete proof that the pot hole actually cause the damage to your rim and not that you were drunk some where and ran over some curb and now trying to blame it on the City and make them pay for it. I mean how can you get proof for something like this?

I would be pissed too...

I think there are places where you can have them fix the rim for much less than buying a new one. good luck.

 

A buddy of mine who works in downtown Tampa bent the crap out of one of his rims while driving to work. Downtown Tampa was notorious for having some of the worst road surfaces in FL... So bad, that when President Bush came to Tampa during his re-election campaign, he said he had one request for Tampa and that was to fix all the potholes downtown.

ANYHOW, to make a long story longer, he tried to file a claim with the city's DOT, and wound up getting swamped with forms to fill and return. Eventually, he just bit the bullet and bought a new rim.

Since the POTUS came and said that the roads were horrible... SURPRISINGLY, the roads have become MUCH improved.

 

MMarshall:
1) These were a set of Volk Progressiv ME's. They're forged so they only bent but kept the tire on. I probably wouldn't have caused as much damage had I had gone with 45 series tires instead of the 30's that I have on there now.
2) There is a lot of heavy truck traffic on that street and with the rain that we've been having here lately, pot holes can form virtually overnight.

I called the city hall today to find out how to file a claim. I reported the pothole and they issued a work order. I can use that as a reference to the pothole in question. Apparently, they seemed to be very well versed in handling claims. They knew exactly who I should contact and what information to provide. All I have to do is contact the city controller and bring proof of the damage. I'm sure a signed affidavit from a witness wouldn't hurt either. The replacement cost for my wheels was $1985 plus tax. I already have the quote, pictures of the pothole, and a signed statement from a witness that was following me and pulled over to see if I was alright. Hopefully, I don't have to go through too much red tape.

It would probably be easier to file a claim with my insurance company, but I would wind up with one point for a single-car accident and had to deal with the deductable.