May 2, 2026
If you've driven anywhere in Metro Detroit this April, you know the roads are worse than they've been in a decade. Suspensions are getting destroyed. Tires are blowing out. And drivers swerving to avoid the craters are causing serious crashes.
Michigan had an unusually wet, freeze-thaw heavy winter. Water seeps into pavement cracks, freezes, expands, and pops the asphalt out. Multiply that across a thousand freeze cycles between November and April, and you get the road conditions we're seeing now. State and county road commissions are running 18 to 24 weeks behind on repair queues.
What that means for drivers: more potholes, deeper potholes, and longer windows before they get patched. And longer claim windows for the people hurt by them.
Michigan does allow you to file a claim against the state or local government for pothole damage — but the rules are strict. The road authority generally needs to have had at least 30 days' notice of the defect, and the claim has to be filed within 120 days of the incident under the Governmental Tort Liability Act for many claims.
Most people don't bother. The claim forms are intimidating, payouts on vehicle-only damage are modest, and the agencies routinely deny. We file them anyway when injuries are involved — because the notice and denial create a record we use later.
The bigger cases come when a pothole causes a real crash. Tire blowout into the next lane. Sudden swerve into oncoming traffic. Loss of control on a curve. In these scenarios, you have two potential paths: a government tort claim against the road authority, and a third-party negligence claim against any other driver who contributed.
Governmental immunity is a real obstacle, but Michigan recognizes a 'highway exception' for road conditions the authority knew or should have known about. Proving notice is the case. We pull pothole-complaint logs, prior-incident reports, and 311 records.
If you're hurt because of a road defect, you have to file a written notice of claim within 120 days of the incident under MCL 691.1404. Miss that 120-day window and your case is dead. No extensions. No exceptions. We've seen otherwise strong cases die on the notice trap.
Call us before day 90 at the latest. We need time to investigate, photograph the defect, get the road authority records, and serve notice on the right entity.
Photograph the pothole with a familiar object for scale (a foot, a coin, a quart of oil). Photograph the road surface 50 feet in each direction. Note exact GPS coordinates. Get any 311 or RoadKill app history if you can. Call the police and ask for a report even if no other vehicle was involved.
Then get medical attention — even if you feel fine. Spinal injuries from severe jolt impacts often don't show up for 48 to 72 hours.
Most lawyers won't take a pothole case. The governmental claim hurdles scare them off. We do these. We know which road commissions are responsive, which fight everything, and what notice arguments hold up in Michigan courts.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Talk to a real attorney today.
Start a Free Case EvaluationCall (855) SWING-BIG
