Services
Document a loss
Support a claim
For carriers and employers
Service areas
Middle Tennessee
- Nashville
- Clarksville
- Murfreesboro
- Franklin
- Hendersonville
- Smyrna
- Spring Hill
- Gallatin
- Lebanon
- Columbia
- Brentwood
- Mount Juliet
- La Vergne
- Cookeville
East Tennessee
West Tennessee
Road Hazard and Pavement Defect Documentation
Delator Claims Division measures and photographs potholes, edge drop-offs, failed patches and other pavement defects tied to a crash or vehicle damage claim. The record is neutral and is used by carriers, attorneys, fleets, riders and drivers.
- Coverage
- 95 of 95 counties
- Dispatch
- 24 / 7 / 365
- Metro response
- Under 60 min avg.
- Statewide
- 4-hour guarantee
What this service covers
A pavement defect is easy to describe and hard to prove after the fact. A pothole that broke a wheel, a shoulder edge that pulled a tire off the road, a sunken utility trench or a raised cover that upset a motorcycle is usually repaired once someone reports it, and a patched hole says nothing about its former depth. The useful record is a set of dimensions taken while the defect is still open, with its exact place in the lane.
Our investigators measure length, width and depth, photograph the defect with a scale from the direction of travel, and locate it by GPS coordinates, route name and distance from a fixed landmark. They also record the vehicle damage that corresponds to it. We do not identify who is responsible for maintaining the road or state that a defect caused the loss. Those questions, and any claim against a road owner, are for the requester and their attorney.
Typical requests involving pavement defects
- A wheel, tire or suspension was damaged by a pothole and the owner wants its size recorded before a patch crew arrives.
- A vehicle dropped a wheel off the pavement edge, overcorrected and crossed the centerline or rolled.
- A cyclist or motorcyclist fell at a longitudinal crack, a sunken trench or an uneven railroad crossing.
- A fleet operator has repeated damage reports from one location and wants the condition documented for its carrier.
- An attorney needs dated photographs showing the defect, prior patching around it and any paint marks from earlier inspections.
How a defect is measured and located
- Dimensions of the defect
- Length, width and maximum depth, taken with a straightedge and rule and photographed with the scale in the frame from above and from the side.
- Location within the lane
- Distance from the edge line and centerline, which wheel path it lies in, GPS coordinates and the measured distance to the nearest intersection or marker.
- Shoulder edge and drop-off height
- Height of the step from pavement to shoulder at intervals, the shoulder material, erosion, and the length of roadway over which the drop-off continues.
- Repair history visible on site
- Older patches, cold-mix fill, sealant, saw cuts, utility locate paint and marking paint around the defect that indicate earlier attention to the spot.
- Matching vehicle damage
- Bent or cracked rims, sidewall cuts and bulges, suspension and alignment-related damage, and scrape marks on the underside, photographed with wheel position noted.
- Approach appearance
- What the defect looks like from a driver's or rider's eye height at several distances, including shadow, water fill and any warning cones or signs.
From request to delivered record
- RequestCall dispatch or submit the request form with the location, loss type and urgency.
- DeployDispatch assigns the nearest available licensed field investigator through the statewide network.
- DocumentPhotographs, video, measurements and factual notes are captured once the scene is safe to work.
- PreserveFiles are timestamped, organized and kept in their original form with a record of who captured them.
- ReportThe package is delivered securely to the requesting party, typically the same day.
A defect can be patched within a day of being reported
Road agencies and utilities respond to hazard reports, and a crash is often what generates the report. A crew fills the hole, and from then on the only evidence of its size is whatever was photographed beforehand. Even without repair, a pothole changes. Traffic breaks its edges and enlarges it, rain fills it and hides its depth, and freeze and thaw cycles in winter open new cracks around it. The condition on the day of the incident is most reliably captured within days.
Phone photographs taken by the driver help, but they seldom include a scale or a fixed reference, and they are often taken from standing height looking straight down. That makes it difficult for an adjuster to judge depth or to place the defect in the lane. A measured record with reference points answers those questions directly and can be compared later with any repair, so the difference between before and after is documented.
Size, position and what a driver could see
The disagreements in these claims are consistent. How large was the defect when the vehicle hit it? Was it in the normal wheel path or at the margin of the lane? Could it be seen in time, or was it hidden by water, shadow or the vehicle ahead? Does the damage to the wheel or frame match an impact of that kind? Each of those can be informed by measurements and photographs taken from the approach, at the same time of day when lighting is part of the question.
Claims involving public roads raise questions about ownership, notice and procedure that carry legal consequences. We do not advise on any of them. The report identifies the road by name and route number as signed, notes anything on site that indicates who has worked there, such as utility markings or a contractor's signs, and leaves the determination of responsibility to the requester, the carrier or counsel.
On this assignment Delator field personnel record what is physically present: photographs, video, measurements and factual notes. They do not adjust, appraise or value the loss, do not determine coverage, cause or fault, and do not represent any party to the claim.
Delator Claims Division is not a law firm, an insurer or an engineering firm, and nothing on this page is legal advice.
Common questions about this service
The pothole was filled last week. Can you still help?
We can document the patch, its dimensions and the surrounding pavement, along with your vehicle damage. A patch outline gives an approximate footprint but not the earlier depth. The report will state that the defect had been repaired before the visit.
Can you tell me who is responsible for the road?
No. We record the road name and route designation as posted and any markings that show who has worked at the spot. Determining which agency, utility or private owner maintains it, and what follows from that, is a matter for you or your attorney.
Do you measure the drop-off at the edge of the pavement?
Yes. Edge drop-offs are measured at regular intervals along the affected length, with photographs showing the rule against the pavement edge. We also record shoulder material, erosion and any tire furrows showing where a wheel left and re-entered the pavement.
Is this service available for a small property damage claim?
Yes. Routine deployment places an investigator on site in one to two days, and flat-rate pricing for each tier is listed on the pricing page. Many defect assignments are a single short visit plus photographs of the vehicle.
Available statewide, including
Every Tennessee county is covered. See the deployment map for typical response tiers by county.
Request documentation anywhere in Tennessee
Dispatch is staffed around the clock. For time-sensitive scenes, calling is fastest; the request form works for routine and scheduled assignments.