Pothole damage: did you know you can claim?

While many have fallen victim to the poor condition of several potholed public roads, and carrying the costs of repairing pothole damage to their vehicles, not many are aware they can submit claims to municipalities or the provincial department.

This comes amid persistent complaints among vehicle owners over the poor condition of various provincial and municipal roads, which are not only a nightmare for motorists but a costly affair for those who have lost tyres and rims to potholes.

The R34 and R619 in the City of uMhathuze are two roads giving vehicle owners a headache.

While these busy routes fall within the jurisdiction of the KZN Department of Transport (DoT), residents who can prove negligence on municipal roads can direct the claims to their local municipality.

According to the City of uMhlathuze, motorists will have to adhere to certain requirements before a claim can be processed.

“For a public liability claim to be successful, negligence must be established,” said the municipality.

“Tyre damage is beyond the municipality’s control and cannot be deemed as negligence.

“Where negligence can be established, however, several factors are considered.

“For example, how often does the motorist travel on the same road, and the date of the incident.

“If the claimant uses the road daily, it is expected that he or she would exercise caution in that vicinity because of the daily usage,” said the city.

The municipality said, on average it receives at least two claims a month for pothole damage.

“In general, a person claiming from the municipality will have to prove negligence on the part of the municipality; a vehicle disc must be shown; driver’s licence; a photo of the pothole; photo of the damaged tyre; vehicle; and vehicle tracker placing the vehicle at the place of the incident.

“Once that has been received, it will be investigated by our insurance company.

In most instances, the claims are repudiated because negligence cannot be proven,” said the city.

Provincial department claims

According to the KZN DoT website, claimants must ensure ‘all documentation is provided to our Loss Control Section, who then forward such to the relevant Regional Office where the alleged incident took place’.

“The regional office investigates where the incident took place, and answers departmental questions pertaining to the incident.

“Once the regional office has completed its investigation, the documentation is forwarded to the mechanical section, who look at quotations and damage sustained to the vehicle, taking into consideration the various aspects of the claim – the entire file is forwarded to them.

“Should there be a legal problem with the claim, it is forwarded to legal services for input.

“The final step in the process is that the claim is forwarded to management, who will determine, based on the evidence provided, if the claim will be honoured or repudiated.

“The claim file is then returned to the Loss Control Section, who will send the claimant a letter based on the outcome.”

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