Any Lawyers In Here? (Scranton, Wilkes-Barre: home, buyers, live in)

[Morphous01]

I hate that our society has turned into such a litigious one but I do feel that when it is necessary you should use the resource if your honest about it which is why I'm posting this question.


I live in the 19454 area code and I was traveling on a busy city street and my right car tire hit a DEEP pothole that shook my car and messed up my axle pretty bad. When I turn now it makes a loud tapping sound. It's a fount wheel drive car.


The pothole is just before a major intersection and it's RIGHT in the path of were your tire would be normally. The only reason why I did not see the pothole was becasue it was raining and it was dark, regardless the hole is RIGHT in the path of were your passenger tire would be normally so even if the road was dark a hole THAT DEEP should not be there except if they had a danger sign (which they did not).


So can I file a small claim against the city and do it all by myself? The cost should be less then 500 bucks to fix the car. Also if i can sue should I fix the car then sue OR get and estimate and them sue for the estimate?

[mathjak107]

im not sure how pa works it but here in new york unless there is a prior report of this pot hole the city isnt responsible.

[John From Scranton]

You stand a better chance of getting money out of Penndot, then you do DPW. Years ago I hit a big pothole and blew out my front tire. I didnt even think about sueing anyone. Just went and got it fixed.

BTW, Did you get a Police report?? I dont mean after you got home and took the dog for a walk and thought this might cost me some money Im going to report it.. I mean right when it happen?? 4-ways on, car in the middle of the road, the works, untill the police got there to make a report?? If you didnt, just spend some of that X-mas cash and get it fixed youself. No police report, no car fix for free.

And as far as can you sue?? I would think not! Don’t forget driving is a privilege given to you by the state of PA, you must be full aware of your surroundings’ while driving. Now if you hit that pothole and another car slammed right into the back of you. You might have a case because the pothole was the cause.

[ScranBarre]

Wilkes-Barre is notorious for potholes---the streets are FAR worse than they are in Scranton (yet there's far LESS whining about it; imagine that!) There's been a sunken drainage catch basin along North River Street at the light near General Hospital for YEARS now, and I cringe every time I have to hit it because there's a truck on the oncoming lane that prevents me from going around it. Then we also have the notorious Wilkes-Barre/Beirut Boulevard between Scott Street and Market Street.

[The Commish]

Hey guys! Sorry I've been gone so long. Life's been busy!

Originally Posted by Morphous01

I hate that our society has turned into such a litigious one but I do feel that when it is necessary you should use the resource if your honest about it which is why I'm posting this question.

Yes, it's interesting how everyone hates lawyers until they need one themselves.

Originally Posted by Morphous01

So can I file a small claim against the city and do it all by myself? The cost should be less then 500 bucks to fix the car. Also if i can sue should I fix the car then sue OR get and estimate and them sue for the estimate?

I am not a lawyer, but I'm guessing the local government has sovereign immunity against any suits filed against it. There are exceptions most likely, but I don't see how a pothole fits any of them.

[JimmyLane]

Originally Posted by Morphous01

I hate that our society has turned into such a litigious one but I do feel that when it is necessary you should use the resource if your honest about it which is why I'm posting this question.

It always fascinates me reading how America is supposedly a litigious society, as if to suggest that people (low class) are filing one frivolous lawsuit after another, going after the guy with the "deep pockets." Yeah I've heard that one too. Such people love to cite the case involving the woman who won millions for burns caused by the McDonalds coffee that spilled between her legs (ouch), an outcome that went on to legally compel McDonalds and such establishments to include a warning label informing buyers: "Coffee Hot." Duh.

If you knew the national statistics, however, you'd be quite surprised to learn that the vast majority of civil lawsuits are summarily dismissed very early on in legal proceedings spearheaded by corporate attorneys who have the resources, political connections, and procedural rules to make it happen. The court system is an establishment of haves and have nots. Having a "good attorney" is nothing more than a euphemism for having an attorney who knows the judge or some higher up in the district attorney's office.

I suggest reading Ralph Nader's Unsafe At Any Speed, which has a nice section on the corporate-run American legal system that is even more applicable today than it was twenty years ago.

[mathjak107]

funny you mentioned the mcdonalds case. while we all laughed at first at it my buddy ended up providing expert testamony at the trial. we all laughed ,of course coffee is hot,what a dummy

evidently there was a tremendous amount of liability in that case that we as commoners just werent aware of. you see as you heat water you go through different stages as it gets hotter and hotter. at one point the water is very hot but getting it on you will only leave a red mark if it spills, thats the normal temp we usually are served our coffee at. if it goes on us we go ouch, shake it off and life goes on.....
keep heating it and first degree burns result, keep going next is 2nd degree burns and finally you reach a point where the water is soooooo hot that there is no 2nd chance, no shaking it off.
instantanious skin damage happens at that point.. there is no reason ever to serve a liquid super heated to such extreme temperatures, and thats where mcdonalds crossed the line ... the manufacturor was liable for not having a more reasonably controlled temperature on the coffee maker, there were no extreme limit controls, mcdonalds were liable for serving something so extremely dangerous....

i cant tell you how many mornings i have punctured the styrofoam cup im carrying with my car key... oooh man thats hot but i just flick it off and im okay, maybe just a little red... had that been mcdonalds coffee i would be scalded and no chance of just shaking it off..... since then the temperatures at mcdonalds have been brough down to more normal levels,.


see i told you it wasnt so funny after we got the real facts

[The Commish]

Yep, great summary mathjak107!

Big rep points would've gone your your way, but apparently I need to spread them around first.

[mathjak107]

alot of cases we hear about seem almost laughable and truthfully many are but some do have real merit as silly as they sound. its just there are things in most cases the public isnt aware of . i dont even try to draw conclusions anymore about high profile cases as we arent privey to alot of crucial data and info

[blip]

Originally Posted by The Commish

Yes, it's interesting how everyone hates lawyers until they need one themselves.

No, most hate them even then.

Welcome back...


(PS- I have friends who are lawyers!)