Maison Law can help you if you’re hurt after a fall caused by a pothole while on a run in Visalia. As a runner, your rights aren’t any different than any other pedestrian. But the reality is, an insurance company or property owner is going to try to argue around their own liability. Our team can stand up for your rights and make sure you have what you need to get better. Set up a free consultation today.
Should I Get a Lawyer After a Running Injury?
If you spend any time running in Visalia, you know it’s not just limited to tracks or trails. You run through neighborhoods, along downtown sidewalks, near schools, around parks, and through apartment complexes—sometimes for training, sometimes for fitness, and sometimes just to clear your head.
The problem is that running leaves very little margin for surface defects. A shallow pothole, a lifted sidewalk edge, or a dip in the pavement can catch your foot mid-stride and send you down hard. These hazards rarely appear overnight. And once a runner gets hurt, figuring out who was supposed to maintain that area—and how long the defect existed—can quickly get complicated.
That’s when you need help, and that’s where our team at Maison Law can step in. We’ll:
- Make sure you understand what your options are.
- Help you get the right information and evidence.
- Handle talks with the city government or insurance company.
- File a claim and help you get financial support for your injuries.
The real issue isn’t whether running carries risk. It’s whether the surface you were running on should have been reasonably safe to begin with. If your injury was caused by a condition that shouldn’t have been there, you may have options worth exploring.
What Information Helps After a Pothole-Related Running Injury?
The thing about any pothole-related accident is that evidence disappears quickly. They get patched, ground down, or replaced—sometimes faster than expected. And since most of your claim is going to hinge on evidence, it’s important to get as much as you can early. Here’s what can help you:
- Photos and videos can help show the size, depth, and shape of the pothole or broken pavement before it’s fixed. Wider shots that capture nearby landmarks, lighting conditions, and visibility can help explain why the hazard wasn’t obvious while running.
- Your shoes and gear can also tell part of the story. Torn soles, scuffed uppers, or damaged fitness trackers can help show how the fall happened and how sudden it was.
- Witness statements can be valuable, even if they’re brief. Someone who saw the fall—or who mentions that the sidewalk or road had been a problem for a long time—may help confirm that the defect wasn’t new.
- Any official reports can matter as well. If police, city personnel, or a property manager documented the incident, asking for a copy can provide a neutral account of what happened.
Once the pothole or issue is repaired, proving it caused your injury becomes much harder. That’s often what insurance companies or public agencies rely on when pushing back. But it doesn’t change their responsibility.
Who’s Liable When a Runner Is Injured by a Pothole in Visalia?
This is often the most confusing part of the entire situation. At least legally though, it’s not as confusing. Liability usually comes down to:
- Whether the person or agency in charge of the property knew—or reasonably should have known—about the dangerous condition and failed to fix it.
Depending on where the injury happened, liability might fall on:
- The City of Visalia, Tulare County, the State of California.
- A private property owner, or a business or property management company.
Sidewalks, parking lots, shared paths, and building entrances don’t always have a single, obvious owner. In some cases, more than one group may share responsibility. This means there’s going to be a lot of finger pointing. Yet, it doesn’t change your overall options.
How Does the Claims Process Work for a Pothole Running Injury?
First things first: your rights and options as a runner that’s injured by a pothole don’t change. What does change is how the claims process works. Basically, it comes down to whether the pothole was on public (government) property or private property. Here’s how both processes work:
- Public property. If the pothole was on a city sidewalk, state road, or some other type of surface that the government is responsible for, you’ll file your claim through the California Tort Claims Act (CTCA). With a CTCA claim, everything is sped up. You’ll have to:
- File a Notice of Claim within six months of the accident. The government then has 45 days to respond. Also, your damages have to exceed $10,000.
Once that early stage is over, things feel more familiar. The government can agree to pay the claim, deny it, or let the response deadline pass. If the claim is denied or ignored, you’re then allowed to move forward with a lawsuit in California state court.
- Private property. If the pothole was on private property—like outside a store, in an apartment complex, or in a parking lot—the process is more straightforward. There’s no special government notice required. The claim usually starts with:
- An insurance claim against the property owner.
- If that doesn’t go anywhere, a personal injury lawsuit may be an option.
Private property owners still have a responsibility to keep walkways reasonably safe or warn people when they’re not. And in these cases, you generally have two years from the date of the fall to take action. Once your claim is filed (in either situation), it’s about getting financial support for your:
- Current and future medical expenses and lost income
- Repair/replacement costs for your personal property
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life
Like any other injury claim, what you’re able to recover depends on your specific injuries and how well you show your evidence. But again, the
Where Do Pothole Running Injuries Happen in Visalia?
Where the fall happened also matters for another reason. Some spots in Visalia develop the same surface problems again and again. Understanding that pattern often explains not just how you got hurt, but why the hazard was still there in the first place. Here’s where these kinds of accidents tend to happen the most:
- Older sidewalks near downtown and long-established neighborhoods often have cracked concrete and uneven sections that don’t get repaired quickly.
- Areas near schools, parks, and community spaces see constant foot traffic that can make surface damage blend into the background.
- Shopping centers and strip malls develop dips, broken asphalt, and poorly patched walkways over time.
- Apartment complexes frequently have aging sidewalks and parking areas that wear down without consistent maintenance.
- Construction zones around road projects and new developments can leave behind uneven or temporary surfaces that aren’t clearly marked.
- Poorly lit streets and walkways make it harder to spot pavement defects during early morning or evening runs.
Most of these situations aren’t about careless running. Runners place repeated stress on the ground with every stride and have a reasonable expectation that commonly used surfaces will be kept in safe condition.
Get Help If You’re Injured in a Running Accident Caused by a Pothole in Visalia
When you go out for a run to clear your head in Visalia, you shouldn’t have to worry about anything—let alone potentially being injured by a pothole. But this is an unfortunately common accident scenario. When it happens to you, you can get help from our Visalia pedestrian accident lawyers at Maison Law. We’ll help you through the claims process and get you back on your feet. Set up a free consultation today.
