Latest news with #pothole
CBC
29-05-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
Pothole problems: here's how you can protect your car and your wallet
When Deanna LeBlanc of Riverview was driving down the Trans-Canada Highway last Sunday, she hit a pothole in a construction zone near the Salisbury exit that was so deep, the impact made her bite her lip and caused her car to start shaking. The hole blew out LeBlanc's tire, costing her $440 in repairs. She said there was no warning about the hole the size of a "crater" that she later learned had ruined the afternoon for other drivers, too. "I couldn't pull over because there were five cars on the side of the road," LeBlanc told Information Morning Mocton. On the heels of the spring thaw, and with heavy rains in May, many roads have become littered with huge potholes. The owner of Dynamic Towing, the company that eventually came to LeBlanc's rescue, told CBC it was called to tow about 25 vehicles in the span of 24 hours on that stretch of highway — all of which had flat tires due to one nasty pothole. "It's absolutely terrible. It shouldn't be left like that on the weekends," LeBlanc said. "They should be protecting us and they're not." In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure said crews have since been to the area to do patch work. The CBC also contacted MRDC Operations Corporation, the private contractor responsible for maintenance of that stretch of highway, but received no response. Trying to recoup your losses So, how likely is it that a driver like LeBlanc will be reimbursed for damage to their vehicle? And what can you do to avoid potholes in the first place? A 2021 study by the Canadian Automobile Association, or CAA, found poor road conditions cost Canadian drivers $3 billion per year in repairs and other hidden costs. That's an average cost of $126 per year for a driver. LeBlanc said she plans to file a claim for her tire replacement with the construction company she was told was hired as a sub-contractor for that area. "I think I got a fight in front of me," she said. Julia Kent, the director of advocacy and community relations for CAA Atlantic, said there are many avenues drivers can take to try to get reimbursed for damages to their vehicles caused by poor road conditions. She suggests starting with the municipality, because some accept claims from drivers who believe the damage was caused by neglect by the local government. "Whether or not you're going to win that claim depends on your instance in particular," Kent said. Typically, claims forms can be found on a city or town's website and lay out specific conditions for reimbursement. For instance, the City of Moncton states on its form that any claims for pothole damage will be denied and that drivers need to prove the city is liable in court. Kent said drivers can also contact their insurance provider, but many don't because they worry it will increase their premium, or because the deductible is greater than the cost of repairs. LeBlanc's incident happened on a provincial roadway, which complicates the question of jurisdiction, Kent said. According to its own claim form, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure must conduct an investigation when a claim is submitted regarding damage to property. In an email, the department said it encourages drivers to take precautions and follow posted speed limits in construction zones. What to remember in pothole-prone areas The same CAA study found 48 per cent of roads in Canada are not considered to be in good condition, nor are they maintained consistently, Kent said. She echoed the advice of the province to slow down in construction zones, saying it's the best way to diminish the chance of major damage. She also advises drivers not to swerve to avoid a pothole, explaining it can be dangerous to you and the drivers around you. If you do hit a pothole hard, pull over. "We do see so many near misses and sometimes collisions with people pulled over on the side of the road," she said, adding that it's important to take extra precautions in that situation. Calling your local towing company is your next step, Kent said. And she said it's best to stay in your car until help arrives. She is calling for a more proactive approach on behalf of the government when it comes to fixing deteriorating roadways, saying it will save everyone money in the long run to do the work now.
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
East Sussex cyclist breaks bones after pothole left unfilled
A cyclist was left with a broken cheekbone and elbow after he hit a pothole covered with water before blacking BBC can reveal Surrey, East and West Sussex, Brighton and Kent councils paid out £4.1m in compensation to road-users over the past five resident Gianni Montoro, who was cycling in Station Road in Groombridge, said: "My front wheel never came out of that pothole, my back wheel came up and I got catapulted down to the ground."East Sussex County Council wished Mr Montoro a speedy recovery and said they carried out a temporary repair before the incident, but could not do a permanent repair due to water on the road. 'I hit the ground like a potato bag' The pothole was submerged in water and had been reported to East Sussex County Council by a resident four weeks before the accident. "I hit the ground like a potato bag," Mr Montoro father-of-two has been cycling for more than 20 years but said the incident had left him shaken. "The pothole was left, I couldn't see it, I had no idea what was coming, I just know I couldn't swerve to protect myself," added Mr Montoro, who owns the delicatessen Arte Bianca in Tunbridge Wells. He said: "If any other cyclists had gone the same way that morning they would have had the same destiny as mine. No chance."The pothole was repaired a few days after the accident. Groombridge resident Sarah Andrews said she reported the pothole on the Fix My Street App. She said the council came out and marked the pothole to be fixed but it was not filled Andrews added: "The pothole was bad and was getting progressively worse. "It was bigger than my foot and I'm a size five, the water was eventually up to my ankle." Ms Andrews said residents had put a traffic cone in the pothole to alert drivers and cyclists, but the cone got damaged."Why didn't the council put up a barrier or cordon it off so people knew it was there?" she Dollimore, from charity Cycling UK, said potholes could be "potentially life-changing" to year 40 cyclists are seriously injured from potholes and between two and three die, Mr Dollimore says. He added: "It puts people off cycling which has massive health, environmental and wellbeing benefits so we should be doing more to make sure this isn't a problem." Additional reporting by Alex Bish.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
7-Eleven ordered to pay B.C. woman $907K for pothole injury
The exterior of a 7-Eleven store is shown in an undated file photo. A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has ordered 7-Eleven Canada to pay a woman more than $900,000 in damages after she tripped on a pothole and broke her ankle in the parking lot of a convenience store. Crystal Tommy's fall in May of 2018 led to a cascading series of injuries from which she is yet to fully recover, according to the decision of B.C. Supreme Court Justice Emily Burke. The judge heard that Tommy stopped to get a coffee at the 7-Eleven in Smithers before work. As she left the store that morning, she tripped on a divot in the park lot and broke her ankle in three places. The injury forced the woman, who is now 37 years old, to miss several months of work at a local plant nursery while she used crutches and a wheelchair. Injuries continue By December of that year, she was walking again, albeit with a limp and pain in her hip. But on Christmas Day 2018, she fell down a set of stairs and injured her back. While she testified that there was fresh snow on the stairs where she fell, she argued it was her lingering limp and hip pain that caused the fall. Tommy's medical complications continued in 2021, when she was driving her dog to the veterinarian and her vehicle slid on some black ice. The car came to a violent stop in the ditch. Tommy testified that she had gained weight around her stomach due to her inactivity after the 2018 fall. 'Her stomach hit the steering wheel, leading to a hernia,' the judge wrote in her decision last week. 'This required an operation in 2023. In addition, she had another surgery in 2023 to deal with an ovarian cyst, all of which created healing complications.' Depression, financial struggles By the end of 2022, Tommy had stopped working and had lost many of her social connections, leading to deteriorating mental health and financial struggles, according to the ruling. 'Tommy continues to experience a limp, pain in her ankle and mobility issues,' the judge found, noting friends and family corroborated the change in Tommy's personality since 2018 'from a happy person to one who is sad and depressed.' Her lawsuit against 7-Elevent Canada claimed damages and lost future earnings arguing she will not he healed enough to return to work until the spring of 2026, and will likely need to retire by age 50, losing out on an estimated 20 years of income. 7-Eleven denies liability 7-Eleven Canada denied all liability for Tommy's injuries, arguing photos showed the parking lot was reasonably safe with only a very small depression in the pavement. Evidence showed the store manager filled in the pothole on the day Tommy was injured, according to the ruling. A 7-Eleven asset protection supervisor testified that its B.C. store employees were required to take an online safety course and complete a questionnaire about workplace hazards when they were hired. Since Tommy's injury, employee safety training is now requested annually, according to her testimony. 'The evidence is that while employees are now 'asked' to undertake the course annually, at the time of the accident, this was not the case,' the judge found. 'An employee could be asked to take the online course, without consequence for non-compliance. Furthermore, the employee is only asked to answer five multiple choice questions as part of a 'knowledge check' at the end of the course, which appears to be a somewhat limited method to ascertain whether an employee has some understanding of the safety issues in the workplace.' The judge ordered 7-Eleven Canada to pay Tommy $907,363 for her claim, including $175,000 in non-pecuniary damages, $494,000 in future loss of income, $10,000 in past loss of income, $171,863 in future loss of housekeeping, $39,000 in past loss of housekeeping, $17,000 in future cost of care and $500 in special damages.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Doctor wins payout after car damaged by pothole
A doctor has been awarded compensation after his car suffered a blowout when it hit a pothole while he was driving back from work. Hospital anaesthetist Dr Thomas Burton, from Hereford, was returning from a shift in Birmingham on 15 February when his Volvo struck the defect on the A4103 at Newton Cross in Herefordshire. After Herefordshire Council denied liability, Dr Burton submitted a case through the small claims court, which the authority failed to respond to, and a default judgement was issued in his favour. The council blamed its lack of response on an "administrative error" and said it decided to pay the compensation as it would have cost more to appeal the judgement. Dr Burton said: "Other people were affected by the same pothole - you can see them stopping ahead of me in my dashcam footage." He said he went "back and forth" with the council after the incident and that he had been told the pothole's repair had been scheduled, which the local authority claimed was a "valid defence". Dr Burton accessed the small courts claim via the government's Money Claim Online portal and received the default judgement in his favour when the council failed to respond within the two-week statutory period. The local authority eventually paid him £245, which included £35 in court fees. A council spokesperson said Dr Burton's claim was initially rejected as the pothole had been identified and was awaiting repair. "Following an administrative error, the decision was made to pay the default judgement as it would have cost more to pursue the matter," they said. "Under normal circumstances, this claim is one that the council would have successfully defended." This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Extra £12m to fill region's potholes, mayor reveals 'Self-healing' roads aim to solve pothole crisis Extra £8.6m provided to fill thousands of potholes Dozens of planned road repairs revealed by council Herefordshire Council
BBC News
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Hereford doctor wins payout after car damaged by pothole
A doctor has been awarded compensation after his car suffered a blowout when it hit a pothole while he was driving back from anaesthetist Dr Thomas Burton, from Hereford, was returning from a shift in Birmingham on 15 February when his Volvo struck the defect on the A4103 at Newton Cross in Herefordshire Council denied liability, Dr Burton submitted a case through the small claims court, which the authority failed to respond to, and a default judgement was issued in his council blamed its lack of response on an "administrative error" and said it decided to pay the compensation as it would have cost more to appeal the judgement. Dr Burton said: "Other people were affected by the same pothole - you can see them stopping ahead of me in my dashcam footage."He said he went "back and forth" with the council after the incident and that he had been told the pothole's repair had been scheduled, which the local authority claimed was a "valid defence". Dr Burton accessed the small courts claim via the government's Money Claim Online portal and received the default judgement in his favour when the council failed to respond within the two-week statutory local authority eventually paid him £245, which included £35 in court fees.A council spokesperson said Dr Burton's claim was initially rejected as the pothole had been identified and was awaiting repair."Following an administrative error, the decision was made to pay the default judgement as it would have cost more to pursue the matter," they said."Under normal circumstances, this claim is one that the council would have successfully defended." This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
