A Sault Ste. Marie man says he was denied compensation for damages to his son’s vehicle by the City of Sault Ste. Marie last year after the rocker panel on it was “literally ripped apart” after hitting a pothole on Wellington Street East last spring.
He’s not alone, either: out of the 175 vehicle damage claims attributed to potholes submitted to the municipality in 2022, 33 claims — or 19 per cent — were successful, with the city shelling out $7,107.20 in repair costs.
The SooToday reader, who requested anonymity due to his son not wanting to be identified, said he reported the damage, which ended up costing him $1,200, within 24 hours with photos attached in order to back up his claim.
“It was clearly caused by the hole,” the man wrote in an email to Sedgwick Canada, the independent claims adjuster for the city. “Prior to that incident it was fine, and after [that] he couldn't even get the door open because it had been shredded so badly.”
According to a letter from the adjuster, because Wellington Street East is what’s called a ‘Class 3’ roadway as per the Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways outlined in the Municipal Act, the City of Sault Ste. Marie “would only be liable to provide compensation if the pothole was present in that state for at least seven days or longer” prior to the reported incident.
“This will confirm that I don’t have a single other vehicle damage claim for this specific pothole, or any city record of the public calling it in to public works as a complaint, which is quite uncharacteristic if it had been present for many days on such a thoroughfare roadway,” said the letter.
The pothole was repaired the day after the vehicle damage claim was submitted to the city.
In an email to SooToday, the City of Sault Ste. Marie says that when a claim is received, its legal department gathers all relevant data from the appropriate departments and refers the matter to an independent insurance adjuster who in turn determines if there is liability.
“This is done to ensure an impartial review of the circumstances and to provide a fair resolution of the claim,” the email said.
Most pothole claims are investigated and completed within 90 days.
The SooToday reader, however, doesn’t agree with the seven-day rule for a pothole on a main artery like Wellington Street East.
“So, the only way I could be reimbursed was if I could prove the pothole had been there seven days before my son hit it. How am I possibly supposed to prove a pothole is somewhere before I hit it?” he asked incredulously. It's ridiculous...I'm convinced it's impossible to be reimbursed.”
The City of Sault Ste. Marie has been using Sedgwick Canada, formerly known as Cunningham Lindsey, as its independent claims adjuster since 2018.