Accident question?

If there were other conditions on the road, like, construction then you could make a case. But normally, no. The city/state has no real liability for a rock being on the road. It was a real "accident" and that's what insurance is for!

 

I'm not sure about rocks, but I've had this done for a pothole once, the amount of time it takes for them to pay out the claim.... I think it took me about 2-3 years, I was like, what was this $300 for again? It wasn't worth the hassle, had to file all these forms, some a few times.

 

I'm 'lucky' enough to have had both situations happen to me:

For damage from potholes - you can get reimbursed for the repairs ONLY IF you or someone else had reported that particular pothole to the city/state at least 5 days prior to hitting it, thus giving them to time repair it. If not, there's no chance of getting any restitution from them - and you will end up wasting a lot of time and energy trying to do so. Best thing to do - put a psychic on retainer so you can find out in advance if you are going to hit a pothole, then report it to the city.

As for hitting the rock in the road - also a lost cause. Last year I picked up my car from the dealer after having a few mods installed. About 5 miles away from the dealer, I started crossing the Tappan Zee bridge and hit a brick laying on the road. It blew out the tire and dented the rim. Due to the 'rules', I had to get the car flatbedded off of the bridge to a location past the toll plaza, then unloaded, then had another flatbed come pick it up and take it back to the dealer for repair. I was denied reimbursement again due to the fact that the brick could have fallen off of the back of a truck and was not something caused by bridge/roadway disrepair.

Knowing how crappy the roads are around here, it's always smart to get the wheel/tire 'insurance' that dealers are now offering (ie: Porsche) and tire insurance whenever you replace tires, if you have a place that offers it (ie:Tire Rack)...

 

Kevin,

I agree with the others, unlikely she can recover. Pot holes are different than rocks or other debris in the road. Usually, potholes are there for a while, and if they city/state is on notice and does nothing, there may be a chance of recovery. A rock, brick, limb, etc. in the road usually don't stay there long enough for them to know about it and do nothing, so it falls into the "act of God" arena, and the public bodies are not liable. The good news is that the insurance company should handle it under the comprehensive part of the insurance and it will not be a "chargeable" accident on her record.

Steve

 

A little late to the dance here but I'll echo what the others have said about the state's liability.

As noted above for the state or city to be liable they must have had knowledge of, and a chance to repair, a road hazard such as a pothole. Riding my Ducati in the city every day I routinely encounter severe potholes and many-inches-deep holes in the road about which I call 311 to report. It's painless. Not sure if your mother et al are local and driving in the city a lot but let them know how easy it is to report such holes by calling 311.

I reported at least a dozen between the UES and financial district that, depending on whether they were potholes (holes in the road > DOT domain) or sinkholes (around manholes > DEC domain), were fixed within a week or longer if it was DOT. Many of these hazards would ding a car rim and put a rider ass over end in a blink so I made it a priority to report every one. At the very least maybe this would give them recourse if they get popped.