Claims committee denies several vehicle claims, approves others and will notify contractor

The Pawtucket Claims Committee reviewed multiple vehicle- and property-damage claims and returned a mixture of approvals and denials with referrals.

Decisions reported to council included: approval of a $300 claim for tire damage by Neil Birnbaum; denials and referral of claims by Steven J. Silva ($791.23), Jonathan Raheeb ($1,664.33) and Scott Roden ($891.66) to the contractor identified in the committee record (transcribed as Venagro/Vernagro Construction); approval of a $442.53 vehicle-damage claim for Andrea Massey; denial and referral of a $101.48 claim by Joel Reed to Rhode Island Energy; and approval of a $300 lost-property claim from Christian Brito.

Committee members emphasized that contractor responsibility for maintaining a safe work zone is central to several denials. Staff said the road-paving sequence had been delayed by a gas leak and that the contractor remained responsible for maintaining the site during an extended open period. In light of three claims related to the same project, the committee also voted to send a formal communication to the contractor asking for additional diligence to prevent future incidents.

All committee recommendations were transmitted to the full council and were recorded on the council docket as returned by the committee; the council accepted the committee returns by roll-call votes.