Can I Sue the City if a Pothole Caused My Motorcycle Accident?

 Posted on May 26, 2024 in Personal Injury

Potholes cause serious damage to vehicles and their drivers. Driving over the wrong pothole at the wrong speed can blow out a tire and cause the driver to lose control of his or her vehicle. Many times, potholes are hard to spot until it is too late.

But who is to blame for potholes? Potholes are caused by a combination of weather and traffic, neither of which can be held responsible. Potholes can be fixed, but who should fix them? Who owns the road containing the pothole? And when is the road owner required to patch a pothole? 

If you were injured in a motorcycle accident caused by a pothole, suing for damages is not a simple matter. The best course of action is to retain a Colorado personal injury attorney who can walk you through your options.

Who Owns the Road?

To claim damages, you first need to know who is responsible. This depends on the type of road:

• The Colorado Department of Transportation is responsible for state and interstate highways.

• Non-state roadways are managed by cities and counties.

As an example, let us say you were injured by a pothole on a road maintained by the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) and you want to sue for damages.

Is the City Liable for Pothole Damage and Injuries?

Although the City of Denver is responsible for patching up potholes, that does not necessarily mean it is liable for your injury or damage to your vehicle.

When you sue a person or company for causing you personal injury, you need to prove that he, she, or it was negligent. This means you need to show that the other party did not take reasonable action to avoid causing the injury.

The same is true if you want to sue a city in Colorado. You need to show that the city was negligent in not fixing the pothole.

How Can I Prove Negligence?

Proving that the city was negligent in failing to patch the pothole is not easy. You need to show that:

• The city was aware of the pothole.

• The city did not fix the pothole within a reasonable amount of time.

There is no legal definition for “reasonable amount of time,” so the city may deny your claim if it feels it did not have enough time to make the repair. This is indeed what happens often, and most claims for pothole injuries in Colorado are denied.

Additionally, you have to notify the city of any claim within 180 days of the injury in order to preserve the right to sue later. the statute of limitations for bringing a claim against the city for a pothole injury is 182 days. This means you only have 182 days from the date of your injury to file a claim, so moving quickly is essential.

Contact a Larimer County, CO Personal Injury Lawyer

Most taxpayers who submit a claim for a pothole injury on their own get denied. Your chances of getting compensation will significantly increase, however, by hiring an aggressive Fort Collins, Colorado personal injury attorney. At Hoggatt Law Office, P.C., we fight vigorously to get you as much compensation as possible. We take our clients’ injuries personally, and we are committed to building your case. Call 970-225-2190 for a free consultation today.