Can You Sue the City for Pothole Damage? (Pittsburgh: 2013, insurance)

[Yac]

Yac.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by Burghgirl17

Eh, eye roll away. There's plenty to eye roll about in this thread. My post clearly said I was following his logic, trying to demonstrate the outrageousness of his statement.

no...you brought in the sexy topic of racism and whatever else. its not the best way to make a point, moreso when its not based on anything.

[gortonator]

There's a lot of very long posts in this thread .....

I just reported 4 potholes on my street, so will be interesting to see when thy get filled. Last time was 3 days for a bike-swallowing sized one.

[LIRefugee]

The pothole in question has been repaired as of 8:50 as I kept an eye out for it while driving down Fifth this morning. I can take a photo of it later today.

[SteelCityRising]

Alright. Sorry for my participation in any heated exchange there with Burghgirl17. I can assure you I'm NOT "racist", and I don't know how that was somehow gleaned from what my rant.

No, the repair isn't $200. It's almost $800. Just got off the phone with my mechanic. Not only was my front-right tire obliterated, but the impact also hit my right-rear tire hard enough to damage the sidewall beyond repair, and the resulting jolt to the body of the vehicle undermined the left-front tire to the point where they also recommend it has to be replaced if I want to pass inspection this month. I also need a complete realignment.

I can afford this whether it's the $200 figure OR the $800 figure. The point is that I should not HAVE to when the city knew of this pothole for weeks. $800 being "something routine in the course of driving" isn't acceptable, especially when this is the second time this year this has happened (although the last time was only $200). $1,000/yr. for hitting potholes sounds acceptable and reasonable to you, BurghGirl?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by LIRefugee

The pothole in question has been repaired as of 8:50 as I kept an eye out for it while driving down Fifth this morning. I can take a photo of it later today.

Thanks for the update. I warned my staff about this pothole last night also so everyone would be in the left-hand lane last night to avoid it (and to be alert of anyone who may veer into their lane last-minute to avoid striking it).

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by gortonator

There's a lot of very long posts in this thread .....

I just reported 4 potholes on my street, so will be interesting to see when thy get filled. Last time was 3 days for a bike-swallowing sized one.

Yes. Sorry. I don't mean to sound trollish or anything by being so long-winded. Sometimes you just need to vent. I know realistically I can't sue because by I'm not in the financial position to pay more for a lawyer (even my friend) to represent me to recoup damages to my vehicle than what the repair bill actually is just to "make a statement", and my guess would be the city has such a lackluster approach to pothole-patching because they know the vast majority of others who hit that pothole last night probably figure the same way with the math just not working out in their favor overall.

$800 after I just spent $800 on Christmas shopping is rather poor timing, hence my angst. Sorry. I guess in the future I should just be happy it's only $800 when you strike a long-neglected pothole rather than $1,800.

[bbrian12]

I would like to sue the water company on becks run for having becks run and glass run tore up for 4 years and it destroyed my suspention on my car. pile on the trip to oakland everyday and thats why my car is falling apart. shocks,struts, tie rods, ball joints, tires, brakes. id like a refund for all of it!

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by bbrian12

I would like to sue the water company on becks run for having becks run and glass run tore up for 4 years and it destroyed my suspention on my car. pile on the trip to oakland everyday and thats why my car is falling apart. shocks,struts, tie rods, ball joints, tires, brakes. id like a refund for all of it!

Yeah. I feel for you, man! It is what it is. Middle-class working stiffs like you and I don't have the luxury of spending thousands to sue major entities just to recoup the same amount (or less) back than what we'd spend taking them to court. I personally hate how the city can pave a street then a utility company can tear it up to do repairs/maintenance on their lines and not have to properly repave the street when the work is done. Isn't that just a huge waste of the money the city just spent to pave the street in the first place?

A city councilwoman from another part of town whom I'm friends with just recommended I contact the city council representative who represents Shadyside (is that still Mayor-Elect Bill Peduto?!) to see if they have any record of any complaints regarding that pothole and, if so, for how long. I might have a legitimate case here if there is a record of complaints that can be supplied going back at least a week or two, along with that photo (I would obviously ask for LIRefugee's permission to use that photo if that was the case), along with 311 calls to show the city knew about this hazard long enough to act upon it but failed to do so until (perhaps just coincidentally?) I broached it last night on this forum and via social media.

I'm sorry, but $800 is a big chunk of change for anyone to just throw away, and I'm still reeling. I'm probably going to spend the next few days with my head spinning and then hope for a better start to the new year.

[Burghgirl17]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

A city councilwoman from another part of town whom I'm friends with just recommended I contact the city council representative who represents Shadyside (is that still Mayor-Elect Bill Peduto?!) to see if they have any record of any complaints regarding that pothole and, if so, for how long. I might have a legitimate case here if there is a record of complaints that can be supplied going back at least a week or two, along with that photo (I would obviously ask for LIRefugee's permission to use that photo if that was the case), along with 311 calls to show the city knew about this hazard long enough to act upon it but failed to do so until (perhaps just coincidentally?) I broached it last night on this forum and via social media.

I'm sorry, but $800 is a big chunk of change for anyone to just throw away, and I'm still reeling. I'm probably going to spend the next few days with my head spinning and then hope for a better start to the new year.

Open Records This is probably your best bet for obtaining the documents you are talking about.

For the record, I don't disagree that the city sucks at fixing potholes. There's been a number of them on Stanwix Street that have swallowed my car. They "fix" them, but then the buses driver over them before they are fully cured/dried/whatever and jack them all up again.