Issues with a claim with the county

[Looking4anout]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Washington State
So i went through a pot hole and blew one tire and damaged another. As I was placing the spare on, the road crew shows and starts repairing the hole. Stupid me did not get names of the crew, but asked about filing a claim and the crew lead gave me a number to call.
I called the number and was instructed to go to a web site to print out and mail in a claim which I did.
The claim was denied saying that they had repaired the hole in a timely maner.
Not sure how the damages were not the county's fault. Anyone have any suggestions how to proceed? I thought they were required to reimburse everyone for damages.

 

[justalayman]

I thought they were required to reimburse everyone for damages.

You thought wrong. They are not expected to fix every hole the instant it is created. They must first have notice that there is a hole in the road. Actual knowledge, or starting when the reasonably should have known of the issue is when he clock starts. If they do not repair it within a timely manner, then you would consider a claim.'

So, if you want to attempt to appeal their decision, you would have to discover when they were first informed about the hole. How long was the hole there?

 

[ecmst12]

And you also have a responsibility to watch out for non-moving road hazards. If you have collision insurance, it will cover this (minus your deductible).

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

If it any consolation, my wife had something similar happen. It took out the tire, rim and hub bearing. 7 months and several thousand miles later, the hub bearing housing broke from a micro fracture, while traveling down the interstate. The car spun out into the median on 3 tires. This resulted in an additional $2200 in repairs to the drive train/steering. A few tires and a rim initially is not to bad. There is a company that sells fire tires, (no endorsements please), who offers a lifetime alignment package if you request it. This will assist if you have any alignment issue to work out and keep the car long term.

 

[Looking4anout]

The crew said it had been reported the day before. I normally am very good about avoiding road hazards, but just missed this one. First time in my life having to change to a spare tire.
So how long of time would they have become "legally liable" for my damages, between the time they were made aware and actually made the repair? I must have been improperly under the impression that they would fix your tire no matter what.

 

[justalayman]

It's up to a court to decide what is reasonable but I suspect less than a day would be considered reasonable.

I must have been improperly under the impression that they would fix your tire no matter what.

Apparently so.