Small Claim for blown tires

I hit a cave-in on a road it Lookout Mountain Georgia city limits and blew out my right tires. I have filed an accident report and am now wondering what my next step should be. Should I get an attorney involved or is there a simpler process for a small claim (~$250.00)? I can provide more details if necessary.

thanks!

You're going to try and make a claim against someone, because you hit a road hazard and blew out 2 tires?

Did you buy road hazard insurance when you bought your tires, at the tire store? or are you thinking somehow you have auto insurance coverage with no deductible that covers you hitting road hazards (Hello, Geico)?

so, how long was the road in that condition? Was the county, state, whomever's road it is know about the condition?

i spoke with my insurance agent about it and she feels that the city should be responsible for the upkeep of their roads. i spoke with friends that live down the road from the cave-in and they say it has been like that for a while.

it happened at night. there is no lighting on that section of the road, no white warning line for the shoulder, and obviously no warning that part of the road is missing.

i can post photos (if someone can tell me how) if that helps to understand.

so, when was the city made aware of the condition of the road?

My point is; you do not get to hold somebody liable if they did not know about the situation.

There might be a chance of a claim but you will have to prove the city was negligent in not maintaining the road and not warning traffic of a known hazard.

i have read that elsewhere as well. i guess there's no way, unless they volunteer that they already knew about it (fat chance), that i can discover that they already knew? if you're suggesting not even wasting my time im fine with just dropping it. but if anyone thinks by getting a lawyer involved or filing a claim somehow i might be able to get something out of it, im willing to do a little work.

an attorney is going to cost as much as you might win and most likely, you would not recover the costs of the attorney.

Unless you know somebody reported the condition, you will likely find a wall of denial from the city. They do a pretty good concert of "I didn't know" unless you can point to who and when somebody reported it.

If your own insurance doesn't cover it, it sucks but you probably are best sucking it up and letting it go.

AAAAAARRRRGGGGH!

I figured as much, thanks for the advice!

Call the city, report the cave in, ask if you can file a claim. The worst they can do is say no. I have, ONCE, seen a city volunteer that they had known about a pothole and not fixed it so they paid for the guy's tire. That was in DC. I was shocked!