Define 'they' in the context of 'they need to know about it beforehand'. Is 'they' the database that the pothole data needs to be entered into or is 'they' any DOT employee. You might try taking the employee route and showing that just one employee had knowledge of the pothole -- (did a DOT truck ever drive on the road?). Odds are someone at DOT was aware and just failed to report it to the proper 'they'.

 

I semi-recall the incident. Since the rest of us made it through (except for Rick Stevens and you) the runs several times with no previous experiences there, wouldn't that just make it some slow reaction time on your part? (not trying to sound like a dick, but that did sound dick-ish).

There were at least 50 people who ran the dragon that day, and we mostly did it 3 times each..... I assume I saw that hole and swerved to miss it, or it wasn't big enough for me to see.?

Anyway... i personally have never heard of any state reimbursing people for damage.... you could hit a curb, then go find a pothole and claim you hit it.?

- Scot

 

Well, if you semi-remember the incident, you know that this happened before the dragon was ever run.
Slow reaction time my ass.
I guarantee that more cars hit that hole, or nicked it, but my 225/35 18 tires in the front did very little to protect the rim at the time. If you read the original post (https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?...?threadid=13382) you will see that I was not the only one.

And about claiming shit that didn't happen, they asked for every bit of evidence imaginable. I provided receipts, witnesses (I had many), pictures, and even had a video of the damage filmed right after I pulled over. Funny thing is that they made the decision without ever looking into any of this. No witnesses were ever contacted. They never even considered the case.

Take a look at the damage and the hole. Tell me this is not dangerous??

 

You might consider small claims court, even Judge Judy, perhaps.

 

I think I hit that same pothole which caught the front passenger tire and made me do a quick Greg Stevens imitation.

I bent the lower control arm and front passenger rim. The lower control-arm and installation cost plus the alignment added to the S2kDays expenses. I still haven't fixed the rim. Oh well, I would do it all again with the exception of the pothole.

So far, I think my total cost was about 1/2 as much as pnty drpr's.

 

You are talking about the very basic concept in the law called "prior notice.." Generally to hold a defendant responsible for the negligent failure to repair a defective condition, the Plaintiff must show that the Defendant had either "actual" or "constructive notice" of the existence of the condition.
Constructive notice can be shown if the Defendant should have known about it with exercise of reasonable care. With municipalities the requirements are often stricter in that the prior notice must be "actual written notice" in the form of prior claims, complaints involving the same defect or the defect itself must be logged on to a map of defects. The theory being they cant be held resposible for faliling to repair something they don't know about. It can be very frustrating as a plaintiffs attorney to have to explain to the client with a very serious injury that there is no case unless the pothole/ or sidewalk defect appears on a "big apple pothole map".

 

I think the idea of itsjustme is a good one. If "they" see that you are making enquiries into whether they have had previous notice, "they" may have second thoughts on whether to pay your claim, or at least part of it.

Think of the time that they are going to have to spend to get someone to go through their records to check out this information.

Also if you do file an appeal, won't they have to make all of their relevant records available to you for preparation of a legal case??

This could all act as pressure on them to just settle the issue.

Good luck....

 

So, next time you get pulled over speeding, say you weren't aware that you were going 87 mph, therefore you couldn't do anything about it.

I can see it now, "Sorry, officer, but I cannot be held responsible for it because I wasn't aware. If I'd been aware of it, I'd be happy to pay the fine."

Either way, I have seen much worse conditions than that here in PA. If they paid out for ever car they messed up, they'd really be in the red.

 

I hate to break it to you, but this rule apples to virtually all such cases, including sexual harrassment, hot coffee, slippery floors and ice on the sidewalk.

As it applies to your situtation, the only ways they could be reasonably held responsible are:

1) The DOT had prior knowledge of the problem (citizen reports, accidents, complaints, etc.)

2) The DOT directly caused the problem (DOT equipment broke the pavement in the process of driving thier equipment in that area)

3) A known problem created the problem and was not addressed properly (there is a stream running by there that repeatedly washes out the road, and they have put in place a solution for the problem, but the solution was negligently inadequate.)

Basically, you are SOL. Your best bet is to look for accident reports in that area, and see if one can be attributed to the pothole. This should be sufficient to prove prior knowledge of the problem.

 

I agree with hpalmer on this one. you can't hold the government responsible for all the car-crashes. I am not sure of the position in America, but here it would probably be set aside as being unreasonable. The floodgate of claims of similar nature would rule out your argument.

Did you sign any contracts prior to your participation in this event? any clauses affecting you?

Sorry to hear they are being such pricks, by the way. Hope they introduce the Racing Hart Wheels Act or something