Road agencies have a fundamental duty to keep the public right-of-way reasonably safe. When pavement distress, drainage failures, missing signs, or other hazards are left uncorrected, the danger is not limited to flat tires or cracked windshields, it extends to expensive lawsuits that can drain already thin transportation budgets.
How Negligence Turns into Liability
Courts in most jurisdictions apply ordinary negligence principles to roadway maintenance. A plaintiff must show the agency had a duty of care, received or should have had notice of the defect, and failed to take action within a reasonable time. Many states add a “prior written notice” requirement, meaning an official complaint letter, app report, or council resolution satisfies the notice element and unlocks a right to sue. New York’s Court of Appeals recently confirmed that even SeeClickFix reports count as written notice, exposing Albany to a motorcycle-crash negligence claim because the city had ignored an online pothole complaint (Times Union).
Recent Costly Examples
Financial verdicts illustrate the magnitude of this risk. Long Beach, California lost a $17.5 million jury award and approved a separate $500 000 settlement in 2024 after ankle fractures traced to unrepaired potholes that city staff had long documented but never fixed (Long Beach Local News). In New York City, claims linked to potholes alone consumed roughly $138 million in settlements over six years, prompting auditors to flag roadway neglect as a budget threat (vialytics.com).
The Broader Economic Drain
Beyond verdicts, motorists shoulder huge repair bills. AAA calculated that pothole damage cost U.S. drivers $26.5 billion in 2021, with an average repair exceeding $600 (AAA Newsroom). Jurors and insurers frequently reference such data when assigning damages, which can compound municipal exposure and raise insurance premiums.
Common Claims Emerging from Poor Maintenance
Plaintiffs most often allege unsafe surface conditions leading to vehicle or bicycle crashes, pedestrians tripping in pavement gaps, hydroplaning tied to clogged drains, ice formation due to inadequate salting, and wrongful death when guardrails or signage are missing. Agencies may also face Americans with Disabilities Act allegations when uneven pavements impede wheelchair access.
Secondary Repercussions
Large payouts reduce funds available for capital projects, elevate borrowing costs, and erode public trust. Political fallout can include external audits, state intervention, or voter resistance to future bond measures for infrastructure.
Strategies to Minimize Liability
The legal trend is clear, proactive maintenance paired with meticulous documentation is the surest defense. Agencies should implement a formal inspection schedule, guided by objective metrics such as the Pavement Condition Index, and log every observation, citizen complaint, and work order in a central database. Small towns can manage with spreadsheets and scanned paper files, whereas medium or large jurisdictions benefit from asset-management platforms like Roadwurx, Cartegraph, or similar systems that timestamp field photos, prioritize hazards, and track repair turnaround. Integrating complaint portals so that online and phone submissions automatically generate work orders helps ensure no report slips through procedural cracks. Staff training must reinforce the importance of documenting response times, posting temporary warnings, and closing out work orders promptly. Maintaining reserve funds for emergency patching, adopting clear service-level policies approved by the governing board, and auditing results annually further demonstrate reasonable care.
Poor road maintenance is not merely a budget nuisance, it is a fertile source of negligence claims that can dwarf the cost of routine repairs. By inspecting regularly, acting quickly on documented hazards, and keeping thorough records, transportation agencies greatly reduce the chance that a pothole or eroded shoulder will become the next multimillion-dollar verdict.