Houston Pothole “Crisis”, Personal Injury & Property Damages

Houston Mayor Annise Parker has recently called the Houston pothole problem a “crisis” and an “emergency.” The amount of potholes and road damage on Houston roads has significantly increased over the past several years. Typically, postholes are caused from years of wear and tear from rain and soil. But, road damage also stems from a lack of preventative maintenance and underfunding of the road systems.

According to the City of Houston’s Public Works and Engineering department, there are currently 3,667 open work orders for asphalt and pothole repair on Houston roads. In June of 2014 the City Counsel approved an extra $10 million for pothole repairs and to date only about 20% of those funds have been used. The City is trying to come up with a more long-term plan to repair the roads, rather than just patching up the existing potholes. The ultimate goal for Houston’s worst roads is going to be a total replacement of the roads, rather than just filling the potholes.

Currently there is a system in place for citizens to call and report potholes or other road damage at the city’s 311 line. On top of the 3,667 open work orders for road repair, there are approximately 952 calls pending.

It is clear why Major Parker remarked the current condition of Houston roads as an “emergency.” Potholes can cause severe personal injury and property damage to vehicles. Regardless of if a driver hits a pothole straight on, or barley hits it, there will likely still be some damage. More severe potholes can cause drivers to loose control of their vehicles and result in car accidents.

Bringing suit against the City of Houston for potholes and road damage can be difficult. Normally the City will be shielded from suit by way of governmental immunity. There are a number of things a citizen must overcome in order to successfully file suit against the City for such personal injury or property damage. The attorneys at Zar Law, PLLC are well versed in what it takes to bring a suit of this nature. For more information call  the experienced attorneys at Zar Law, PLLC at (713) 333-5533.