pot holes at work

[twoloves4ev]

I was leaving my work parking lot that literally the whole lot has pot holes. You can not avoid these pot holes because whichever way you go there is more pot holes. I have worked there for 3 months and heard people say they have complained but nothing gets fixed. So I was leaving the lot and was hitting multiple pot holes and my trod on my car broke and I ran into the fence. Being that my employer has known about these major pot holes and did not fix them means that the were negligent and are liable for my damages?

 

[army judge]

I was leaving my work parking lot that literally the whole lot has pot holes. You can not avoid these pot holes because whichever way you go there is more pot holes. I have worked there for 3 months and heard people say they have complained but nothing gets fixed. So I was leaving the lot and was hitting multiple pot holes and my trod on my car broke and I ran into the fence. Being that my employer has known about these major pot holes and did not fix them means that the were negligent and are liable for my damages?

You can't arbitrarily assign negligence.
Negligence is determined after a trial, and by a court of competent jurisdiction.
The property owner might assert you were negligent for entering upon the property KNOWING the risks you assert.
There is a principle in the law, assumption of risk, and your acknowledgment of the situation leaves room for a valid defense.
Even had you NOT known, you are required to avoid the potholes, drive safely at all times, and by entering upon the property; you might be held as assuming the risk voluntarily.
Bottom line, report the matter to the company, and see what their position is.
You might also report the matter to your insurance carrier and attempt to learn their position, as well.
In the end, you'll likely need to sue the company to attempt to get your vehicle repaired, and that ain't easy!!!

 

[disagreeable]

It sounds like our tires were defective as was your driving. Most people do not intentionally drive with crappy tires, nor do they intentionally drive into deep potholes. On the other hand, you could be fired for irritating your boss. If you are real nice and ask pretty, they may fill the potholes with gravel.

 

[Betty3]

I would report the incident to your car ins. co. & get their take on it.

 

[cbg]

Welcome to winter/spring in the north. Potholes happen - it is often not cost-effective to fix them until you are sure winter is over and the patches will hold. Yes, it's a pain, but you have a certain responsibility to drive defensively too.

 

[Betty3]

Agree, there are currently potholes just about everywhere. I hate them too but not much I can do about them (except watch out for them) until they get around to fixing them when the weather turns better/warmer.

 

[disagreeable]

We have one state route where the road heaved about 5 inches. The township preemptively put about 3 inches of cold patch on the downside of it and a warning sign. A portion of the state route in my city has one lane permanently closed until the state repaves it. Seriously it swallows small cars to the frame.

 

[cbg]

At the end of my street is a frost heave the size of a speed bump. There's a place on the numbered state highway I take to and from the train where it is literally impossible to avoid the potholes when you're driving south unless you drive into the north bound lane - the best you can do if there is north bound traffic is slow to a crawl and try to minimize the bumps. This is winter in the north and it's been a hard winter. Your employer didn't cause it.

 

[Betty3]

It's now spring - Yay! The weather "should" be better & hopefully potholes will get fixed.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Maybe not. I'm getting ready to provide a pothole article here as a result of experiences suffered with New York City potholes. Unfortunately potholes plague much of New York City and there is little hope of them getting fixed with alacrity as a result of the city's own inefficiency. If road maintenance was privatized or awards provided, I'm sure that somehow a better job would be done.

An issue with the OP's experience with parking lot potholes is whether the employees were expected to park their cars in the parking lot. Is it a private lot or a large lot that services a number of different buildings? Was this in a suburban area where there is no other parking nearby? My understanding is that the "assumption of risk" argument passes liability onto the injured person or party. If the employees were expected to park their cars in the lot, it would seem the employer's responsibility to make the lot safe. If someone tripped and fell because the walkway was corroded, it would seem that a personal injury lawsuit for negligence could very well be successful. The same principles should apply for property damage. The fact that the employer had knowledge of the situation and that personal and property damage was foreseeable should support a negligence claim.

As has been stated before, everything depends upon the specific facts of the case. What is being discussed here is just an exercise in thinking through how a negligence claim may be applied to a private party -- and it is completely different with a municipality.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Maybe not. I'm getting ready to provide a pothole article here as a result of experiences suffered with New York City potholes. Unfortunately potholes plague much of New York City and there is little hope of them getting fixed with alacrity as a result of the city's own inefficiency. If road maintenance was privatized or awards provided, I'm sure that somehow a better job would be done.

An issue with the OP's experience with parking lot potholes is whether the employees were expected to park their cars in the parking lot. Is it a private lot or a large lot that services a number of different buildings? Was this in a suburban area where there is no other parking nearby? My understanding is that the "assumption of risk" argument passes liability onto the injured person or party. If the employees were expected to park their cars in the lot, it would seem the employer's responsibility to make the lot safe. If someone tripped and fell because the walkway was corroded, it would seem that a personal injury lawsuit for negligence could very well be successful. The same principles should apply for property damage. The fact that the employer had knowledge of the situation and that personal and property damage was foreseeable should support a negligence claim.

As has been stated before, everything depends upon the specific facts of the case. What is being discussed here is just an exercise in thinking through how a negligence claim may be applied to a private party -- and it is completely different with a municipality. Good luck with your claim!