CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Potholes and sinkholes: We have all seen them around Charlotte and they can really add damage to your car. So who is responsible to pay for these damages?
OUR SOURCES:
THE QUESTION:
Is the city of Charlotte responsible for paying for damage to your car if you hit a pothole on a road maintained by the city?
THE ANSWER:
Yes, in certain situations, the city will pay for the damage to your car if you hit a pothole.
WHAT WE FOUND:
“There is an outside chance that if a pothole has been there for a long long time and a city or county has been negligent in repairing that you could file a claim with the city,” Causey said.
Attorney Gary Mauney said you would have to prove that the pothole has been there for a while or that someone has already reported it.
“If you can prove constructively that hey this hole has been so long say a year otherwise if you could prove hey someone called and complained to the city you got the email and discovery that the city was aware of the hole and they had not acted in a reasonable amount of time to correct the hole,” Causey said.
The city of Charlotte said to file a claim, you can go to their website and fill out this form and to report a pothole call 311.
The city should then fix the pothole within a reasonable time frame. If they don't and you damage your car on the pothole, they could be the ones paying to get it fixed.
THE QUESTION:
Will your car insurance cover damages caused by a pothole?
THE ANSWER:
No, not all car insurance policies cover damage from potholes.
NC Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey said not all policies will cover damages.
“The most important advice I could give is to encourage everyone to check with your insurance agent to make sure you have comprehensive coverage,” Causey said. “You won't get any coverage if you just have a liability coverage but having a comprehensive collision is worth its weight in gold to having its claims paid,”
WCNC Charlotte also asked the city about sinkholes. City officials referred us back to the same policy on potholes.
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Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.