COMMUNITY WATCHDOG: Who pays for car's pothole damage?

Who's responsible for the damage to your car? Gwen Young, Newsday's community watchdog editor, answers some common questions.

My car was damaged when I hit a pothole. How can I get reimbursed?

It depends. If you submit your claim to the wrong jurisdiction, you may never see a dime. If you don't know who's responsible, call the town highway department where it happened. People there should know whether the road belongs to the state, the county or town.

How do I make a claim?

It varies, so call the appropriate jurisdiction. Some towns require notice of claims to be sent to the town clerk's office by certified mail. For others, it's the town attorney's office. For Suffolk County roads, all information should be sent to the Department of Public Works.

What information do they need?

Again, it varies, so get the specifics from the agency you're dealing with. In Hempstead, officials need the exact location where it happened, pictures of the location and damages. Most towns want a notarized signature. Some towns, like the Town of Babylon, also require two estimates of damage. The Town of Islip doesn't require pictures.

And then I get paid for the damages?

No. For your claim to be considered, the pothole has to have been reported. Most municipalities require "prior written notice, specific to location." In other words, if no one ever reported the pothole, the municipality doesn't have any liability. Town of Islip spokesman Eric Haugen says, "We would be responsible if we didn't repair the pothole within a reasonable amount of time. It's usually a matter of days, but there's no hard and fast rule."

What are my chances of getting money back?

You don't lose anything by trying. But as Town of North Hempstead spokesman Collin Nash told us, "It's subjective. There's no hard and fast rule. How do we know your suspension wasn't blown in Manhattan?" Last year, he said, the town processed 13 pothole claims. Only one was paid, for $90.47. The Town of Hempstead received 36 claims for pothole damage in 2009. Of those, 16 were paid out and six are pending, with payouts ranging from $170 to $1,500. In the Town of Oyster Bay, there were nine claims for pothole damage in 2009, with four payouts totaling $1,124.67. Suffolk County had 106 claims and 55 were paid, for a total of $22,445.11.