pothole fucked rim, city responsible?
 

I was driving down a street yesterday, and I hit this big cunt of a pothole that bent my rim so bad it actually hit the brake disc. Also took out my alignment.

Apon checking the truck, I had a spare TIRE but no rim, so I called a buddy and we took the wheel to his house and hammered it so that it was more or less straight, filled it with air and it held, however the car shakes like a bitch now.

Can i get money from the city for this? Apparently they are required to mark all potholes and fix them in a reasonable amount of time.

good luck trying to sue the city....

has happened to me many times, gotta just drive alittle more carefully.

yea...especially the bigger the city the less they give a fuck

You probably could if you decided to sue them or something.

But it will take time and it's probably not worth it.

ya, but good luck getting anywhere..

Just sue them in small claims.

It's a risk you assume when you drive city streets.

just watch where you are going. Its not the citys fault you ran into a whole.

That really sucks. You should just called the city sometime this week and see what they say.

No,

A) they wont believe you
B) chalk it up to bad driving

you're wasting your time with that one. pay them extra to fix the pot hole.

Depends on the city...Some have hotlines for it...Simple and easy...

they are responsible

One of my friends went jogging and fell in a pothole. Result: busted knee cap. She got a 5 fig. abount from the city. Better ask an attorney, as far as I know it also depends where exactly the pothole is, means, how many inches from the curb and how big it is.

good luck with that... heh

Stop and listen to yourself. What are you a money grubbing fool?

If nobody got hurt then move on. Lawyers cost money and unless you can prove you hit a pothole whats the point.
Fixing your vehicle will cost less.

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You should be able to make a claim in Vancouver. You can in Toronto and most other cities I've lived in. Much cheaper for the city then going to court all the time.

Make sure you go take pictures of the pothole that caused the damage and give city hall a call on Monday.

Unless his damage was above 2500, 5000 in some places. There would be no need for a lawyer. Use small claims court, I will not say this again. Cost is minimal to file. Just bring in plenty of evidence such as pictures of the hole, picture with ruler showing depth, measurements from side of road, visability of hole, and so forth.

If he is like me at all, you pay property taxes and other city taxes that are supposed to keep the roads in good condition that is safe for transit.

By the way bad driving aside, sometimes you have no choice but to hit the hole or side swipe some cars or other objects.

i was involved in case in the uk where a diesel spillage caused me to fall of my motorbike, it was the highways agency's responsibility to ensure the roads were safe..

you are wasting your time trying to get the city to pay for it...

1) how are you going to prove it was a pothole that did it?
2) you already hammered it back out, so how are you going to prove the extent of the damage?

i have had the city pay for a new oil pan on my car before... took forever but they paid up. They were doing construction on the road and didnt put up any signs about the big ass hole the paid, cracked my oil pan....

I also see this as being a problem ...

I hit a pothole several years ago that broke 2 leaf springs in my pickup truck. I called the town and told them about it, and they sent an insurance adjuster to check the damage within 2 days. He instructed me to go and get 3 estimates to replace the springs, and submit them to the town. About 2 weeks later I got a cheque in the amount for the middle estimate - no questions asked. :thumbsup

I still say its a waste of time.
1 new rim = $100 unless its fancy chrome lets be generous and say $500
Apparently thats the only damage. He said it hit the disc brake but no damage =$0
Lifetime Alignment = $100 which you should already have.


So we're no where close to $2500

Case closed!

.

Thats the point of SC. I mentioned that figure because you brought up lawyers.

There should be no need for small claims court. You just call the city and they will have a form for you to fill out. Cities carry insurance for these claims.


Americans, Always looking to litigate.

I wouldn't waste my time

dont think the city will pay

I talked to a couple people here they said that they got reimbursed by the city.
Im not money grubbing or anything but im just rolling down the street and POOF my tire goes flat. This road didn't have this hole before, i drove down it all the time. You can see the wheel was bent because its still outta shape and lots of hammer marks on it from me straightening it.

It's not any fancy rim but its a bmw wheel so its not exactly cheap, and if it bent some other shit like control arm or tie rod or anything. i haven't really inspected anything there in depth yet.

Think again, you just have to have a little passion and a lot of time on your hands.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...m6maincar.html

Driver who refused to 'go away' wins pothole suit

By Michael Stetz
STAFF WRITER

September 6, 2005

One in an occasional series of how the city of San Diego's fiscal crisis is affecting everyday life

So you're not supposed to fight city hall, right? Tell that to Robert DeLaurentis, who did so and won.

Then again, it wasn't exactly a fair fight.


DAVID BROOKS / Union-Tribune
Robert DeLaurentis sued the city of San Diego after a tire on his car was flattened when the vehicle hit a pothole on Miramar Road.
He took on San Diego City Hall, which is broke, in political crisis, facing federal probes and, let's see, now out another $500.

That's how much DeLaurentis won in a small-claims suit against the city over a blown tire he suffered in January when his BMW hit a pothole.

Call the July ruling a victory for the little guy.

It's also an example of how the city is taking it on the chin when it comes to potholes ? the number of which ballooned after this winter's near-record rainfall and years of road neglect.

DeLaurentis, 39, who owns and manages commercial and residential properties, says his six-month fight wasn't about money.

"This was a matter of principle," the Bankers Hill resident said. "I don't think they want to pay unless you make them pay. I think they think you'll just go away."



DeLaurentis was driving on Miramar Road, just east of Interstate 15, when he hit the pothole on his way to church. He's thankful the road was mostly clear, because he nearly lost control of his 2002 BMW Z8.

He spent a couple hours at a tire shop and paid more than $300 for a new tire.

How to help

After more than two years of devastating financial news, including plummeting bond ratings and investigations into city government's business practices, San Diego is struggling to find money for basic services. The Union-Tribune is exploring how these woes are affecting residents. Upset? Want to share a story? Call (619) 293-1720 or e-mail Michael Stetz at [email protected].
When he filed his claim with the city's Risk Management program, he expected the city to pay up. After all, it was a city street and, hence, a city pothole.

Instead of a check, however, he got a letter from Risk Management that was less than enlightening: "Because subsequent investigation and legal opinion determined that your claim cannot be honored and because no formal denial has been caused to be issued by the city of San Diego within the 45-day time period as described in California Government Code Section 912.4, your claim is deemed denied by operation of that law."

DeLaurentis has a friend, an attorney who has served as a pro tem judge in small-claims court. She couldn't figure out what the letter meant, either.

Risk Management usually sends out a more reader-friendly rejection letter, said Ashley Fenton, the program's claims and insurance manager. It was unclear why DeLaurentis got the confusing one.

Angered by the rejection, DeLaurentis forked over about $30 to file his case in small-claims court, which rules on disputes that don't exceed $5,000 in damages. No lawyers are present. People represent themselves, while the city sends claims representatives.

Small-claims cases concerning potholes are rare. DeLaurentis said he figured that some people just give up, thinking it's a long shot or they can't afford to invest the time.

In the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, only two people turned to small-claims court for help with damage from potholes. The city won one case and lost the other.

When Risk Management learned DeLaurentis was going to court, it offered to settle the dispute by paying him for half his loss.

Fenton said Risk Management sometimes tries to cut deals rather than go to trial and have an employee waste a day in court.

DeLaurentis said he wasn't impressed by the city's offer. "Your time has value and mine doesn't?"



In court, the city made its case: DeLaurentis was turned down because the city didn't know a pothole existed at that site.

A pothole had been there before, the city admitted, and it had been fixed. But the patch failed to hold. It was DeLaurentis' tough luck that the pothole reappeared and that he ran into it before anyone notified the city.

DeLaurentis said the city also complained that his car was equipped with special tires ? the kind you can drive on even after they go flat. They don't absorb shocks as well as traditional tires.

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The city's claim representative obviously had done a lot of research, DeLaurentis said, and that got him miffed. "Why not spend that money fixing potholes?"

The tires were legal, DeLaurentis said. It was the road that was dysfunctional, he added.

Fenton said the case was a good one to take to court. The city can't simply pay questionable claims, she said.

The hearing lasted about 30 minutes.

DeLaurentis got $350 for damages and $150 for he time he spent fighting the city. And he feels he put the city on notice.

"It's a matter of public safety," he said. "The streets shouldn't be in that condition."

I think you're fucked..they wont do anything

Canadians too!
looks like hes in Vancover BC.

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Should of took pictures on the spot.
I think you also have to file a complaint.

I love how everyone is sue-happy these days.

People have (and quite successfully) sued the city because they have fallen down on cracked sidewalks... should be a peace of cake on a pothole lol.

I had the same thing happen to me. The pothole did 500 damage to my rim. I did a claim with the city but never heard back from them, go figure. I think you should at least try to do a claim.

Mark

You might have a hard time proving it now since you took a hammer to your rim after the fact.

No shit?

Why do people not take responsility for their own actions.
I'd bet anything he was going way over speed limit and/or was doing something else like talking on the phone or eating. i.e. not paying attention to the road-was at least partially responsible

Where do you ass clowns think the money comes from that gets paid out in stupid and frivolous claims like this?

I know these city governments are mismanged and the departments responsible are way overpaid, hell its comical tio watch these guys patch potholes but this is the wrong way to change the system.

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eww bad beat, but yah dont bother suing, just chalk it up as a learning experience. Even if it was the cities fault, you wont get anywhere with them. Actualy try calling them up monday, and be calm, and rational, and let them know you are prepared to go to the press if they dont replace the rim, their answer will pretty much give you an idea of where to go with it all. If its an ok sure lets get you taken care of, if its some runaround answer then just let it go, not worth the time. NOTHING WILL BE DONE:(

Actually, I was going under the speed limit of 50kph (I was going about 30). This was right before a right hand turn I was making and I was just slowing down to take the turn (no stop sign).

I honestly don't give a fuck if that pothole gets fixed. I was paying attention to the road just fine. I just happened to hit that hole at the exact angle nessesary to bend it.

I'll file a complaint with the city tomorow when they are open. This isn't a matter of me trying to change the city or blah blah. Where does this money all come? From the government of british columbia, which if i'm not mistaken has a surplus of funds this year (or so i think i heard anyways). I'm not money grubbing, but come on, canada has some of the highest taxes in the world, they should keep their roads in tune.

Gather all your evidence and file a complaint to the city office.