Car damaged by a pothole? Here's how to get compensated
MINNEAPOLIS – This winter hazard hangs around a lot longer than snow. Pesky potholes are creating problems for drivers, but hitting one isn't always the end of the road.
Slowing, swerving and striking. Drivers do their best. Pothole after pothole on one stretch of Hennepin Avenue at Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis makes them hard to avoid.
"Every time I hit one, I feel like it hit me, not my car," Jesse Barstad said.
Each crevice has a chance to become costly.
"I go like this [crosses fingers], when I go over it and hope for the best," Barstad said.
Over in St. Paul, if they're not plowing, they're patching. Public works said with the freeze-thaw cycle we've been having, the cold patches that fill the potholes only last so long. So the same area could become a problem again, until they can start the hot mix that sticks.
"It's part of living in Minnesota, I guess. The worst is when the snow starts to melt and they're not like filled in anymore," Barstad said.
If your car does end up in the shop, drivers can file a claim in the Twin Cities with forms online.
If you damage your car on a state highway, you have 180 days to file a claim. MnDOT says in order to have a valid claim, it has to know about the pothole and have a reasonable amount of time to fix it. If there's negligence on MnDOT's end, it could be liable.
Here's where to report a pothole in Minneapolis and St. Paul and with the state.
And here's the claim information for Minneapolis, St. Paul and MnDOT.