Pothole Tort MNDOT

[iamtheshaner]

I think I remember a thread about this some time ago but I searched and can't find it..

Has anyone ever submitted a tort claim with MNDOT due to damage from a pothole?

I bent a fucking rim on my focus this morning due to a pothole on 13 and 35W and although I have already reported the pothole and contacted a tort specialist with MNDOT it looks like a huge pain in the ass to get any sort of compensation.

I'm just looking for any tips or horror stories you may have. Of course, I need to drive this thing 1000 miles in 26 days and I doubt the oh-so-effecient state will be able to make this situation right before then. FUCK MY LUCK!

[CS]

go to www.car-part.com you should be able to source a used one a low cost relativly close to you

[Joe M]

PITA.

Kyle (Blackstang5.4) tried this once.

[iamtheshaner]

go to www.car-part.com you should be able to source a used one a low cost relativly close to you

Finding a rim isn't my problem. Getting the state to pay for a rim that I shouldn't have to is

[CleanLX]

The sport of pothole dodging is high risk to say the least.

[RyanM]

Ya shouldnt have hit the pot hole. Just sayin

[93SVT]

The sport of pothole dodging is high risk to say the least.

No shit, and the wife keeps asking when the 19's can go back on her ride, I'm thinkin end of June lol

[CleanLX]

No shit, and the wife keeps asking when the 19's can go back on her ride, I'm thinkin end of June lol

Oh for sure. I'm trying to get my car out one of these days, but I know the longer I wait the better off it will be.

It's much safer driving the F150 for now. I can see the potholes coming that much better, and hitting them isn't that big of a deal. /

[mnstang]

Finding a rim isn't my problem. Getting the state to pay for a rim that I shouldn't have to is

why shouldn't you have to pay for it? did the state make the wheel? maybe you should buy a car that is properly equipped for the roads you live near.

[NOTNSS]

You're pretty much screwed.

http://www.crookstontimes.com/news/x128433030/Minn-cities-unlikely-to-pay-for-pothole-damage

St. Paul, Minn. — If your car is damaged by a pothole you can try seeking reimbursement from the city or state. Just don't expect a favorable outcome.

Minnesota transportation officials say it's increasingly rare for a claim related to pothole damage to be paid out. That's in part because of dwindling budgets a state policy that allows officials to deny a claim if they can show they weren't aware of the pothole.

Minneapolis paid just three of its 49 claims last year and none of its 59 in the first months of this year, according to an analysis by Minnesota Public Radio.

St. Paul receives between two and 20 pothole-related claims per year between January and March but hasn't paid a single one in four years, MPR found.

Those numbers aren't surprising. In Minnesota, cities are only liable for pothole damage if officials have been notified about the hole and didn't fix it.

Sandra Bodensteiner, St. Paul's manager for Workers Compensation and Tort Liability, said the city investigates every claim.

"I can't really think of a situation with a pothole where ... we've paid recently, or even in the last couple years," she said. "Our crews are really good about, if we have a complaint call come in, getting out there."

That's disheartening to motorists like Sam Hardman, who was running errands in St. Paul in January when he hit a pothole and his tire popped.

He had the tire replaced and his bent rim fixed at a garage, where the bill came to about $120. Although his insurance wouldn't cover the cost, he felt optimistic when he discovered he could file an online claim with the city.

"On the claim form, there's a line for filling out exactly where it was and what time of day," Hardman said. "It makes you think, 'Oh, somebody's going to listen to me.'"

A few weeks later he got a letter from the city rejecting his claim on the basis that the pothole hadn't been reported to the city.

Drivers who hit potholes on state roads can submit claims to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The state Department of Administration looks into every report and rules whether the state will cover the cost.

The state generally gets 40 to 90 claims per year but the number has soared since last year.

Between January and March 2010, 155 people asked MnDOT to pay for repairs from pothole damage. The department paid five claims worth a total of about $4,700. This year 136 have been filed, with three covered in the amount of $1,600.

David Ahern of the Administration Department said dwindling funds and deteriorating roads are to blame.

"I think there has been a shortage of dollars to do permanent repair — replace the entire surface of a section of a road," he said. "So a lot of it has been patching."

Most comprehensive insurance policies cover pothole damage, according to Mark Kulda, a spokesman for the Insurance Federation of Minnesota. However, not everyone has comprehensive insurance because it's not required.

Those without adequate insurance "get their car damaged, and they want to fix it so they go to the city or the state to try to make a claim," he said. "But, you know, budgets are tight."

[D3thM3tal]

Unless multiple people complain about the same hole you are screwed -

I lost a perfect SVT E1 and a new Blizzak

[SFC]

I'd like to see who got claims paid out. With those kind of numbers, how can they be paying out anyone but city workers and their family/friends?

[RyanM]

PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY, MOVE ON AND LEARN FROM YOUR SCREW UP

[CleanLX]

PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY, MOVE ON AND LEARN FROM YOUR SCREW UP

[iamtheshaner]

why shouldn't you have to pay for it? did the state make the wheel? maybe you should buy a car that is properly equipped for the roads you live near.

Fantastic rationale good sir. The state did not make the wheel, but they did make the road and furthermore neglect proper maintenance of said road. Perhaps you could recommend a vehicle that is invulnerable to potholes?

Sure, shit happens and that's why we have insurance. But, considering the state offers tort (regardless of how likely getting tort may be) I don't think I'm being unreasonable in my quest to get the state to pay for it.

Besides, it's a factory 100% stock car with stock wheels.

Suck my dick if you think this is my fault and 100% my responsibility to repair damage that occurred as a result of road conditions and NOT my ability to responsibly operate an automobile.

PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY, MOVE ON AND LEARN FROM YOUR SCREW UP

Learn what lesson exactly? That I can't operate my vehicle on state roads without random unsafe road conditions causing unavoidable damage?