It was only by chance Kyle Cossette was driving on Glenmore Trail around 6:10 a.m. on July 22.
He was on his way home from a night shift and usually takes Stoney Trail, but that section of road was closed because of flooding caused by heavy rain. All the rain created chaos for the early morning commuters.
“I see a bunch of hazard lights on in the distance,” says Cossette. “And all of a sudden my car craters.”
Cossette was one of the many drivers who were caught off guard driving eastbound on Glenmore under the Crowchild Trail overpass, when they hit a large pothole. The City of Calgary reported hazardous road conditions, while drivers in the area reported seeing multiple cars pulled over with flat tires.
“I mean, it’s Calgary,” said Cossette. “Potholes are classic, but the way it thudded, it was substantial.”
Cossette says more than $4,500 worth of damage was done to his two passenger side rims and tires, not including the cost of a rental car while his vehicle was in the shop. In July, the City of Calgary directed drivers to file an insurance claim through its website. That’s where Cossette started trying to recover the repair costs, but says he was quickly directed to Aecon, the contractor who had been doing the road work.
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Aecon denied Cossette’s claim, saying it had taken reasonable steps to maintain the quality of the road.
“It’s been stressful, it’s a substantial amount of money involved (in) getting a vehicle repaired,” said Cossette.
“In my view, that is gross negligence form the city and Aecon for not keeping their worksite safe.”
Cossette says he is trying to figure out when the city was made aware of the pothole, and when crews were dispatched to deal with the situation in hopes he will be able to hold someone accountable. However, insurance experts warn it might not be a straight-forward process.
“Adjusters look at what are the circumstance here, what is unique about this, what are the other outlying factors like weather and timing,” said Rob de Puis with the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
De Puis says a successful challenge of the decision will need to prove negligence and show that once the city knew about the pothole, it didn’t take reasonable steps to complete the necessary repairs.
Complicating this situation further was its timing and conditions, given that it happened early in the morning during the pouring rain.
“It’s Mother Nature that was wreaking havoc on that particular circumstance and there might not be any liability or negligence attached to it,” explained de Puis.
De Puis says drivers with collision coverage should be able to file a claim through their own provider, but will have to pay the deductible, adding any further action against the city may have to go through the court system.
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