Are Massachusetts Towns Responsible for Damage to Your Car Caused By Potholes?

Massachusetts has seen one of the snowiest winters in recent memory, and while not everyone loves that, it has been a great season for winter sports enthusiasts and of course, plow drivers.

While a snowy white winter can be great, residents know that after the winter season fades away and the snow melts, the state starts to transition into another season—pothole season—that other magical time of year when Massachusetts residents do nothing but complain about the state of their roads.

With temperatures rising last week across the state, the past few days have been devastating for roadways and some of the vehicles that use them.

Potholes are simply a fact of life in any cold weather area and are basically unavoidable. The little bastards are caused by the expansion and contraction of ground water ground under the pavement. When water freezes, it expands. The pavement will weaken and continue cracking if the water repeatedly freezes and thaws with changing temperatures. Again, they're pretty unavoidable. But what municipalities can do, is repair them. However, the weather, availability of materials, and manpower all have to be there.

Despite crews working steadily to repair roadways, hitting a pothole can be detrimental to your car. Chances are if you live in Massachusetts, someone you probably know has gotten a flat tire in the past week due to potholes. So who has to eat the cost?

Are Massachusetts Municipalities Responsible for Damage to Your Vehicle from Potholes?

According to mass.gov, "Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 81, Section 18 controls both what our courts deem “defects” in the road, and the rules that MassDOT must follow if we receive notice from you."

A defect is considered anything in the condition of the road that renders it unsafe or inconvenient for ordinary travel. Both this statute and the case law state that there can be no recovery for property damage, only personal injury (limited to $4,000.00), in actions against the Commonwealth due to road defects. However, there is one loophole, if the state investigation finds that the area was in an active construction zone, they will forward your claim to the contractor of the record.

That doesn't mean you can't still file a claim. The link to do so is here. You can also try filing a claim locally within your city or town hall. While the odds for reimbursement are stacked against you, David White, a Boston personal injury attorney says there are few things you can do to help your cause.

"Take plenty of pictures or video of your vehicle’s damage and if possible, take photos of the actual pothole. Look for evidence of other incidents, like blown-out tires, broken hubcaps, and other debris. This may be evidence the pothole has been there a while and should have been fixed sooner."