The City of Cleveland still has 451 pending pothole claims cases from the year 2013 in which it has yet to decide whether to reimburse drivers for pothole damage to cars. That’s according to numbers that NewsChannel 5 obtained through a public records request.
There are still 242 pending pothole claims from 2014 and just 44 from 2015.
The city would not answer why there are so many open cases from years ago.
“I’ve been hitting plenty of potholes for weeks, weeks and weeks,” said James Peterson, a Cleveland resident.
Peterson said he plans to file a claim after the wheel-bearing on his 2007 Saturn Ion went bad this week. The damage cost him nearly $300.
“I hear the roaring, roaring coming from the right side of the wheel,” he added.
Peterson attributes the damage to hitting roughly 50 potholes a week on the east side of Cleveland.
“Even small ones [potholes], if you hit it the right way, it can do a lot of damage,” said Curtis Grismore, a mechanic at Safeway Tire in Cleveland.
The city has received 2,407 pothole claims from drivers from 2013-2015. Of those numbers, the city has denied 1,214 claims. It has paid out 423 claims.
AAA said pothole damage costs U.S. drivers $3 billion annually.
The city said it had eight crews patching potholes on Friday.
Got a pothole you want to complain about it? Let Pothole Patrol help! Fill out our form and look for Jonathan Walsh in your neighborhood tackling the pothole issues YOU submitted.
