Potholes can cause serious damage, and even injury — what can you do?
CBC chats with a lawyer about how you can make a claim for damages if your car hits a pothole
Pothole season is here — and it's been a rough one already for drivers. According to provincial regulations, municipalities are supposed to fix potholes of a certain size in a certain amount of time.
If they don't — and you hit one — you could file a claim for damage to your vehicle, says Troy Lehman, a lawyer with the firm Oatley Vigmond. And you could even file a claim for personal injury.
Lehman says if a person is seriously injured, they should call a personal injury lawyer to see if a claim can be made.
"You've got to prove the pothole had been there and neglected according to the standards and hadn't been repaired on time."
A lawyer will send an investigator to see if there's a problem with the road. They'll get measurements and interview people nearby about how long the pothole has been there.
Just what is a municipality's responsibility when it comes to fixing potholes?
Lehman says provincial regulations stipulate a municipality has to repair a pothole when it gets to a certain size: 8 cm deep and an area of 800 square cm. If it gets that big, it has to be fixed within seven days
If you hit one, and can establish the pothole has been there longer, then you can bring a claim against the city.
To hear the entire interview with Troy Lehman on CBC's Up North radio show, tap here.
With files from Waubgeshig Rice