Get Money if Your Car is Damaged From Pot Holes

Here is how you can get money for pot hole damage in Western New York.

The potholes around Western New York are obnoxious.

Last year, SEARS parking lot at the Eastern Hills mall was a hot mess. I joked that it was like riding the Predator at Darien Lake...but, of course shortly after I joked about it, I crushed a few potholes and popped a couple of tires. The Eastern Hills Mall blamed SEARS and SEARS blamed the Mall--it was a hot mess (then again, it's a mess over there anyway for other reasons). Popping on tire could be fine if you have a spare, but if you pop two different that creates a whole new set of problems because well, you obviously can't drive.

You have to buy TWO tires and not one. Plus, you have to call a tow truck now. It is just obnoxious and of course, we all like to (and rightfully so) point the finger at the organization that did not maintain the roads.

I forked up a couple of hundred bucks which wasn't fun, but had it been an Erie County road, they may have forked up the money.

What you have to do if your car gets damage from a pothole:

• Take pictures of the pothole
• Take pictures of your car
• Submit a written notice + have it notarized.
• Submit within 90 days of the damage happening at the link below

If you have a ton of potholes in your town, (sorry Lockport), Erie County has a way to apply for help. The hardest part is just determining whether the road or not that you blew your tires on is a town road or an Erie County maintained road.

If your vehicle has been damaged by a pothole on an Erie County maintained road, you can file a property damage claim with the county's law department.