MIRS Sept. 8, 2014

Back in February, during the midst of our pothole-ridden winter, the Department of Transportation (MDOT) advised motorists they could file a claim for a possible damage reimbursement if a pothole mangled their vehicle. As it turns out, those damage claims are almost never paid out. Yet the number of damage claims submitted this year spiked compared to 2013 and 2012. According to MDOT, there were 744 claims submitted to MDOT this year. For 2013, there were 213 claims submitted and in 2012 there were 182. So from 2013 to 2014, there was a 249 percent increase in claims submitted. Michael Nystrom, executive vice president of the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA), said the jump in requested claims underscores the increased costs of driving on Michigan roads.

But he also said there’s greater awareness among the public about the road conditions, and it’s reflected in the requests.

“Folks are talking about how bad Michigan’s roads are, folks are recognizing the poor condition of our roads, and so when that recognition is there, we’re certainly going to see more requests for possible reimbursement,” Nystrom said.

However, of the 744 submitted claims this year, only three were paid out to the claimants for pothole damage.

The success rate isn’t much better than in previous years.

Of the 213 claims requested of MDOT in 2013, just four pothole-related claims were paid out. And in 2012, none of the 182 claims requested were granted. However, the 2013 and 2012 data sets don’t include Macomb County, which didn’t have available data.

The number of requested damage claims represent issues besides potholes. MDOT officials have said the issues people want reimbursement for range from damaged pavement to damage from snowplows to mowing activities.

“The various claims that have been paid out amount to anything from a snow plow that threw snow over a overpass that hit a car to one woman driving over a open manhole cover,” said MDOT spokesperson Jeff Cranson.

In fact, Cranson has said, there really isn’t a legal definition for what constitutes a pothole, either.

However, regional MDOT offices said a “great majority” of claims submitted are “indeed `pothole’ related,” said Courtney Bates, spokesperson for MDOT, although exact numbers or percentages aren’t readily available.

Still, the total number of claims paid out doesn’t differ much from the paid claims classified as pothole-related by MDOT.

This year, eight total claims were paid out (three were pothole-related). In 2013, there were 12 total claims paid out (four were pothole-related) and in 2012, there were five total claims paid out (none being pothole-related).

So why isn’t anyone getting money out of this? Motorists have a tough burden to prove via the state’s governmental immunity laws.

Motorists have to show on their claims “that MDOT failed to maintain the actual roadbed of the highway in reasonable repair” and that MDOT “knew of the condition and had an opportunity to repair it, or that the condition existed for more than 30 days,” according to MDOT’s website.

MDOT officials and local road officials acknowledged it’s unlikely a pothole isn’t dealt with in a month’s time or was purposefully ignored.

“Most things are addressed within 24 hours or less and if it’s very severe, we’ll get out immediately,” said Mark Hoepfner, engineer of operations field services for MDOT.

Geib acknowledged it’s a tough burden to meet but noted some people aren’t even sure what they hit and automatically assume it’s a pothole in some cases.

“We’ve had plenty of descriptions where people say `I hit a pothole’ . . . we go back and look at it and there’s nothing there,” he said.

The claims data above is submitted directly to MDOT regarding the various trunk lines the agency is responsible for. On the local level, county road commissions and municipalities also receive these damage claims that MDOT isn’t involved with for local roads.

It’s unclear how many pothole claims are granted on the local level but a quick review by MIRS of some of the largest counties suggests the trend of denials extends to the locals as well.

The Wayne County Roads Division reported 125 road hazard claims received and just one that was granted this year. That’s an uptick from the 25 submitted claims in 2013, 27 in 2012 and 57 in 2011. In each of those three years, no claims were paid out or settled.

The Road Commission for Oakland County did a bit better this year, paying out 7 claims out of the 73 received. But the Macomb County Department of Roads hasn’t paid out any claims this year, and they don’t tally how many requests are received, said Robert , director of the department of roads for Macomb County.

Other county road divisions or commissions, like in Ingham or Kent County, also had no record of claims requested. They also hadn’t paid any out this year.

The insurance pool that represents 77 of the state’s county road commissions, Michigan County Road Commission Self Insurance Pool (MCRCSIP), did not pay out any claims this year between January and July, said Monica WARE, spokesperson for the County Road Association of Michigan (CRAM).

Ware said not all damage claims make it to the insurance company, however. She said county road commissions take care of handling most of the claims themselves. The number of claims submitted to MCRCSIP wasn’t available.