Pothole damage claims rarely paid out by City of Ottawa

Making a claim to the City of Ottawafor pothole damage toyour car? Good luck getting money.

Only one out of 10 claims made in 2015 for pothole damage resulted in a payout, according to information from city staff.

This seasonpromises to be a tremendous one for potholes,with 93 claims made in February alone. That'smore than five times the number for the same month last year, with only 17 claims in February 2015.

Considering the later thaw in 2015, there were just 42 claims for pothole damage last March, with the city paying out only three claims.

City clerk and solicitor RickO'Connor explained in an email thatno pothole claims resulted in legal proceedings in 2015.

O'Connor said it's too early to assess the number of settlements for February of this year.Butthe city record on payouts suggests a banner year in claims will not necessarily reflect an increase in city liability.

Potholes good for repair business

Whether or not the city covers claims for pothole damage, the seasonal road hazardsare creating brisk business for local garages.

On top of damaging a vehicle'stires and rims, potholes can also wreckfront ends, wheel bearings, and alignments.

Sandro Giaccone, branch manager at FrisbyTire Companyin Ottawa, said the garage has seen a number ofcustomers affected.

"We've had more thaw and freeze cycles this year than we've ever had," he said, "and that's a recipe for making potholes."

Buttrying to get compensation from the city to pay forthat damage appearslimited.

Small claims timely option

Few know better than Alex Liculescu, whose MiniCooper blew out a tire and sustained $650in damage after driving into a pothole last year.

The city blamed the pothole on the contractor doing road work, and denied the claim.

"I was left with no choice," saidLiculescuwho decided to takethe city and the contractor to small claims court, finally settling last month with the contractor for the damage and court costs.

But that processisn't for the faint of heart, according toLiculescu."It took 25hours of documenting all the evidence, taking pictures, and putting a plaintiff's claim through," he said.

Personally, I have better things to do than to go through this again.- Alex Liculescu

He's not sure whether going the distance in court works for everyone.

"You can go try to get your money back, it's very likely that the city is going to say 'no, we're not paying you'and you may have to go all the way to small claims court to get your money back," he added.

"Is it really worth your time? Personally, I have better things to do than to go through this again."

The standards of maintaining and repairing roads are based on "reasonableness not perfection," according to O'Connor.

30,000 potholes filled so far in 2016

City councillor Mathieu Fleury said the city has filled 30,000 potholes so far since January, compared to 15,000 overthe same period last year.

He supports calls for the use of more digital resourceslike the city's websiteso citizens can upload pothole information and pictures in order to help allocate resources in a more efficient way.