Pothole Injury Claim in Texas

Potholes are circular-shaped depressions in a road surface, typically resulting from damage to the pavement due to factors like heavy traffic and weather. These can often cause accidents and injuries on the road due to their disruption in driving.

There are several road conditions that can cause accidents including potholes. Other hazards are as follows:

• Cracks in roads
• Inadequate drainage
• Poorly designed roads
• Broken guardrails
• Roads that are too narrow
• Roads that lack shoulders
• Vegetation that obstructs the roadway.

Conditions such as these can cause accidents with resulting damage to vehicles and injuries to their drivers and passengers.

The first thing that a victim must do is to identify the roadway conditions that have caused their losses and then figure out who owns the road. Some roads are owned by private parties. Most, however, are constructed, owned, and operated by government. A legal consultation would help a person identify a road’s ownership.

It might be a municipal road or a county, state, or even federal road. A victim would have to turn to the appropriate government for compensation for their losses. Under the Texas Tort Claims Act, the government would only be liable for personal injury and not property damage alone. They would want to talk to a Texas lawyer for more information about the limitations on government liability with respect to roads in Texas.

It is important to keep in mind that there is a statute of limitations for car accident lawsuits in Texas. The statute of limitations for personal injury is 2 years. The same period of limitations applies for a wrongful death lawsuit.

Under the car accident statute of limitations in Texas, they need to follow special rules if they are claiming compensation from a government or government entity. If this is the case, an individual needs to give notice to the municipality, county, or Texas state government within 6 months of the date of the accident. The government entity is entitled to notice and an opportunity to respond to the allegations.

In claims involving accidents caused by government vehicles or “motor-driven equipment,” an injured person may claim damages for personal injury, property damage, and/or death from the government entity that employs the operator of the vehicle or equipment.

But in all other cases in which personal injury is caused by unsafe property, only damages for death or personal injury can be recovered. This rule applies to a pothole injury claim in Texas.

What Are Some Examples of Pothole Injuries?

Of course, a vehicle can be damaged by a pothole in any of the ways in which vehicles can be damaged in accidents. Drivers, passengers, and pedestrians can be injured or even killed in these accidents.

However, there are some types of damage that are the usual result of a vehicle’s encounter with a pothole as follows:

• Flat tires
• Disconnected or damaged hoses that start to leak
• Damage to a vehicle’s suspension that might affect the steering
• Damage to tire rims, e.g., bent rims
• Damage to the wheel alignment which could also affect the steering; tires might squeal when they otherwise would not or the vehicle might pull to one side or the other
• Bulging and/or leaking tires
• Unusual noises from the exhaust system
• A shaking or vibrating steering wheel.

If an individual drives over roads with potholes and experiences any of these issues, they want to have their vehicle checked by a mechanic for signs of damage. If a condition that is consistent with pothole damage is found, the vehicle owner wants to document it carefully and document the presence of potholes on the roads they have traveled also. They would want to get an estimate for the repairs from a qualified mechanic.

However, they are unlikely to collect compensation for damage to their vehicle. For that, they would turn to their car insurance company.

Can I Get Reimbursed for Pothole Damages?

As noted above, the first step is to identify the road conditions that have caused them injury. Then, they would need to identify the party responsible for building, maintaining, and operating the roadway in which the potholes are located.

Under personal injury laws in Texas, a case involving roadway defects as the cause of injury only is based on the theory of premises liability. This means that the victim who seeks compensation for their injury must prove certain elements including the following:

• The government could have been aware beforehand of the danger of a particular roadway hazard.
• The government was, in fact, aware of a particular dangerous condition but did not act to repair it in a timely manner.
• The government failed to warn vehicle operators of the hazard.
• These failures contributed to an accident with resulting property damage and personal injuries.
• The injured motorist had no way of anticipating the hazard.

With respect to the first element, foreseeability, the standard applied is the reasonable person standard. So the victim must prove that a reasonable person would have foreseen the danger of the hazardous condition. Arguably, the presence of potholes in a roadway may be the most foreseeable of hazards.

However, the law also requires the victim to prove that the government had actual notice of the problem. But notice is a technicality in the law and means that an entity actually knew or should have known of the existence of a hazardous condition.

What Evidence Can Be Used To Prove a Pothole Injury?

An individual would have to document the damage to their vehicle and any injury to people sustained in a pothole accident. It would also be a good idea if the victim could identify the specific day and time when the accident happened. Again, some of the types of damage that may be caused by potholes are the following:

• Flat tires and bent rims are common forms of pothole tire damage.
• Fluids are leaking from hoses and tubing in the engine.
• A steering wheel that is shaking or vibrating or trouble steering.

A victim’s injury might be related to this damage or it might have been caused in some other way.

Is Pothole Damage Covered by Insurance?

The surest way to get compensation for damage to one’s vehicle caused by an encounter with a pothole is to make a claim to one’s car insurance company. In fact, this may be the only way to get compensation for pothole property damage in Texas as the law in that state does not require governments to compensate vehicle owners for damage caused by hazardous road conditions.

Fortunately, car insurance may pay for pothole damage, but a vehicle owner needs to have the right kind of coverage and that is collision coverage. To drive legally in Texas, a driver must have liability coverage. But liability coverage does not cover pothole damage. In fact, it does not cover damage to an individual’s vehicle at all. The entire purpose of liability coverage is to compensate other people who suffer injury and loss due to a car owner’s negligence.

Collision coverage is the type of coverage that a driver needs in order to protect their own vehicle and recover compensation for property damage in the event of an accident. This means that a driver can receive reimbursement for damage to their vehicle regardless of who is at fault or how the damage was sustained.

Where Do I Report Potholes?

An individual who knows about potholes in public roadways is performing a valuable public service if they report them to the authorities. One should call the non-emergency number of their local law enforcement agency and ask for its help in identifying the agency that is responsible for maintaining a particular road and its contact information. They would then want to contact that agency and report the condition and the need for repair.

If the condition is sufficiently dangerous and requires an immediate response, an individual might want to contact their local law enforcement agency at its emergency number to report the situation.

Do I Need a Lawyer if I Have Been Injured by a Pothole?

If you have been injured by an encounter with a pothole, you want to talk to a Texas car accident attorney. LegalMatch.com can connect you to an experienced Texas attorney who is familiar with all of the technicalities of Texas law and can guide you to the right place to get compensation for your injuries and damage.