Pothole damage claims on California freeways triple while Caltrans payouts drop by half. Why?

A CBS News California investigation found pothole and debris damage claims on California's freeways tripled in the first half of 2023 alone, while Caltrans cut damage payouts in half.

Our analysis of a recently denied damage claim revealed that Caltrans likely knew about the “dangerous condition” months before the damage occurred, but denied the driver's claim and failed to provide the evidence he needed to sue Caltrans until it was too late for the driver to use it. in the courts

CLICK HERE to see the California highways with the most potholes and damage claims and use our interactive search tool to find the worst roads in your area.

Angie's story: A hole took her away from her mother

Angie Rubin was driving south on the 101 Freeway one April afternoon on her way to visit her 95-year-old mother in a retirement home when she hit a pothole.

The pothole, which was in the center lane of the freeway, “torn the tire,” Rubin explained. He never got to see his mother that day.

After “bobbing” his car to the side of the freeway, dodging speeding cars, a tow truck took his car to a nearby dealer for repairs. There, one of the mechanics told her that she wasn't the first to hit that pothole.

“It's like, 'Oh yeah, we know that pothole,'” Rubin recalled.

Rubin filed a claim with Caltrans for reimbursement of damages. Hers was one of 30,000 claims filed between 2018 and mid-2023. She was also one of many drivers whose claims were denied.

CBS News California investigates also identified that Caltrans likely knew about the pothole that hit Rubin months before the damage occurred. Caltrans then delayed giving Rubin the records he was requesting from previous pothole reports until it was too late for Rubin to use the evidence in court.

According to Caltrans data obtained by CBS News California investigatesthe number of damage claims filed with Caltrans tripled in the first half of 2023 alone compared to the total value of claims over the previous five years.

The reason for this increase could be due to more potholes. A larger share of these claims mention potholes than in any previous year. In the first half of 2023, about three-quarters of claims mentioned potholes, compared to less than half between 2018 and 2022.

As pothole damage claims rise, Caltrans claim approvals decline

Under California law, if the state knew of a dangerous condition and failed to fix it, the state is responsible for paying damages.

Drivers can sue the state, but for damages under $12,500 (previously $10,000), Caltrans offers an early claims settlement process.

If drivers are denied, they have six months after being denied to file a lawsuit on their claim.

When Rubin filed his claim with Caltrans, he said he thought, “This is a no-brainer. Like, of course they're going to take care of it.”

Caltrans requires “clear evidence, such as time, location and photographs, of the dangerous condition of the roadway and show that it happened on the state highway system.” which Rubin provided.

“I showed them the pothole. I showed them the tire with the huge piece taken out,” he said.

But Caltrans denied his claim, saying the agency was not responsible.

“Yes they denied my claim. Are they paying any claims?” Angie asked.

Overall, between 2018 and mid-2023, Caltrans approved about 7 percent of claims for which information was available from the state.

Over time, the share of approved claims has gone down. In 2018 Caltrans approved 1 in 10 claims. But data through mid-2023 shows Caltrans approved just 1 in 25 claims. (This does not include claims that had no status information or were still pending).

It feels like “David and Goliath”

Caltrans declined repeated interview requests from CBS News California to answer questions about the claims process and why so few claims are approved.

Instead, Caltrans Chief of Public Affairs Edward Barrera pointed us to this statement on their website.

The release, in part, notes that the driver must show that “the road in the state highway system was in a dangerous condition, Caltrans knew of the dangerous condition, or should have known, and that Caltrans had sufficient time to fix the problem before damage occurred.”

CBS News California asked Barrera via email how drivers are expected to prove what Caltrans knew and how much time is “enough” to fix a known pothole on a freeway. But he refused to answer. Instead, he suggested we file a “CPRA” or California Public Records Act request to get the answers to these questions.

In August 2022, Rubin filed his own CPRA. He asked Caltrans for any reports on the pothole he hit in April 2022.

State law gives agencies 10 days to respond to CPRAs, but allows them to delay the release of records.

“Month after month I would get these emails saying, 'We'll get back to you in another two months,'” Rubin said.

Caltrans finally gave Rubin an answer. Documents the department sent him suggested a pothole in the same area where he hit his pothole had been reported in January 2022, more than three months before Rubin's accident. But records show Caltrans didn't complete work on the pothole until June 2022, several months after Angie's crash.

Angie Rubin's Pit Timeline

• January 2022: A Caltrans pothole is reported on US 101 South near the CA 134 and CA 170 split.

• April 23, 2022: Rubin hits a pothole, damaging his car, on US 101 South near the CA 134 and CA 170 split.

• May 2, 2022: Rubin files claims with Caltrans.

• June 14, 2022: Caltrans completes work on the reported pothole on US 101 South near the CA 134 and CA 170 split.

• July 13, 2022: Caltrans sends Angie a denial notice saying the state is not responsible for the damages. The letter includes a footnote that says you have six months from the date the letter is sent or delivered to file a lawsuit.

• August 17, 2022: Rubin files a CPRA, seeking evidence that Caltrans knew about the pothole before its accident.

• January 13, 2023: Six months after the date of Rubin's denial letter, which would have been the deadline to file a lawsuit on his claim, Caltrans continued to delay the delivery of the requested records.

• March 7, 2023: Caltrans provides Rubin with the requested records seven months after filing his CPRA and two months after the deadline for him to use them to file a lawsuit against Caltrans. Records suggest Caltrans did know about the pothole that damaged Rubin's car (or a pothole in the same area) several months before Rubin's accident, but didn't compete to work on it until months after Rubin's accident.

“They make it very difficult. I really think they want you to leave,” Rubin said.

Rubin didn't receive his response — proof that Caltrans knew about the pothole — until March 2023, seven months after he requested information about the pothole and two months after the deadline for him to appeal his denied claim in court.

“It feels a little like David and Goliath,” Rubin said.

But Rubin's mother taught him not to give up.

“Caltrans needs to be held accountable,” he said.

Rubin turned around CBS News California investigates to find out if the California Department of Transportation is intentionally denying valid damage claims.

However, we won't know for many more months, as we will now have to wait for the agency to comply with our Public Records Act requests.

The department waited nearly six months to publish the data reference in this story, and here in our sidebar.

We are now waiting for Caltrans to respond to several more requests for records that should give us some insight into why Caltrans is denying a higher proportion of claims and how drivers can increase their success rate.

Stay tuned!

In the meantime, CLICK HERE to see the California highways with the most potholes and damage claims and use our interactive search tool to find the worst roads in your area.