Angry with pothole claims

The article on potholes made me angry again, as my claim was also rejected. The claim rejection letter in part states:

“Our review of the City Street Department’s maintenance records indicate that the pothole you identified you struck being located on westbound Holland Ave. at the intersection with Hwy 395 was reported to the City to be in need of repair on Feb. 27, four days after your incident date. Unfortunately, the City was unaware of the existence of the subject pothole until after your incident date and as such the City was not afforded the opportunity to repair it before your incident occurred.”

Now I have a real problem with the reasoning for this rejection. It states, or implies that the city relies mainly on citizens to report damage to roads as a reactive means of locating damage to city roadways, instead of being proactive and locating them on their own before they become as large as this one was.

I thought about suing the city for the approximately $450 of my claim but the expense of getting a lawyer makes it a losing proposition. So, here I am, out the cost of repairs, and angry again.

Mike Dahlager

Spokane