Car damaged by a pothole? You may be eligible for reimbursement.
Apr 23, 2021 06:43AM ● By Editor
By Jason Rantala of KARE 11 News - April 23, 2021
Aside from green grass and warmer temps, nothing says spring in Minnesota like potholes.
"It was a bit of a milder winter this year. That might have helped us get through it, but potholes are still there," said MnDOT spokesperson Jake Loesch.
Not even a weak winter could put a stop to these potholes in south Minneapolis, like those along East 60th and along East Minnehaha.
"You hate to see it. You hate for anyone to have to hit one," Loesch said.
These road hazards can cause upwards of hundreds of dollars in damages.
According to MnDOT, they will pay for it too, but there are some caveats. Factors include whether MnDOT should have been aware of the pothole and whether they had ample time to repair it.
"That always depends on the situation, so it's hard to kind of put any for sure answers to it. It's definitely a case-by-case basis, but we do take all of those claims seriously," said Loesch.
MnDOT will only compensate you for damages on state highways like I-35. Otherwise, you'll need to reach out to the city where the damage occurred.
"We really do encourage and ask people to help tell us where they are, where you might have encountered a pothole, where you see it," said Loesch.
In St. Paul, the city would have needed prior notice of the pothole and would have had to have failed to repair it within a reasonable amount of time, based on availability of public works crews.
In 2020, the city received 58 pothole damage claims and paid out a total of $6,116, according to public works spokesperson Lisa Hiebert.
On state highways, you can report potholes and file a claim for damages here.
In St. Paul, report potholes on their website, or email them at [email protected].
For Minneapolis, potholes reporting information can be found here.
To see the original report and read related stories, follow this link to the KARE 11 News website. https://www.kare11.com/article/traffic/pothole-damage-how-to-get-reimbursed/89-cce806d6-0151-49a0-98...
