Hitting a pothole or driving over a patch of ice can lead to costly repairs or cause you to lose control. If that happens near Philadelphia or Bensalem, figuring out who is responsible can be hard.
The answer often starts with who maintains the area. Pennsylvania uses different rules for roads under local control, routes maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and private property.
Hazards on locally owned streets
Pennsylvania law generally protects local governments from negligence claims. It creates an exception for some dangerous conditions on streets a local agency owns. For that exception to apply, you must show the hazard posed a risk the agency could reasonably expect. You also must show that the agency had actual notice or enough information for the law to treat it as having notice in time to respond.
A pothole may fit this exception when a defect in the street surface creates the danger. Natural snow or ice raises a different issue. Pennsylvania courts distinguish a defect in the street itself from a condition that rests on its surface.
If PennDOT maintains the road, Pennsylvania law does not allow recovery for property loss under the pothole exception. PennDOT states that it must deny property damage claims from potholes and similar road conditions covered by that law.
Hazards in private parking lots
A business or another private party that controls a lot generally owes customers reasonable care. Natural snow and ice, however, receive different treatment under Pennsylvania law.
When winter weather makes a parking lot slippery, Pennsylvania courts often apply the hills and ridges doctrine in injury cases. Under this rule, an owner generally does not face liability unless snow or ice builds up into dangerous ridges or raised areas, the owner has notice of the condition and that buildup causes the injury. Different rules may apply when the problem involves one isolated patch of ice or a hazard the owner helped create.
Keeping useful evidence after road damage
Road conditions can change quickly after repairs or changing weather. You may want to photograph the pothole or ice and keep records showing what happened to your vehicle. Those details can help you prepare for a possible claim and identify who maintained the area.