arghhh mud caused accident...council to blame?

1jim

I really dont think you can sue the council because of Mud on the road, are they supposed to come round daily to clean it up? Im not sure the police would care about this....but do let us know how you get on

pinkshoes

I really don't think that suing the council will get you anywhere. They would argue that as the mud is clearly visible, then one should have taken more care.

Why not try writing to the council highlighting the problem, and asking for a response from them. Emailing them never seems to get responses, and a phone call would be better than an email.

Suing seems a bit over the top. As much as this guy shouldn't have put mud on the pavement, your friend should have taken more care whilst walking through it. If your friend can't work because of this, then can she not claim incapacity benefit if her illness is preventing her from working for periods of time?

Pink_fluff

sarahg1969 wrote: »

Eggshell skull principle. You were not injured, but someone on crutches who already had a problem, might have been.

That said, I don't think it's similar to a car on a muddy road. A driver has less time to see mud on the road than someone who chooses to walk right through it.

Sorry, I have never heard of Eggshell skull principle, so I'm not sure what that means. No I wasn't injured, but the op said that their friend has Fibromyalgia, i'm pretty sure that is a condition opposed to an injury. It is something to do with muscle pain (and probably alot more than that) as far as I know. Surely this person seen the mud? Could they not have walked to the other side of pavement/edge of road if no traffic? I wouldn't just walk through the mud, and it must have been pretty bad if they managed to fall?

peachyprice

TBH, I think all your friend can do is report your neighbour to the council for driving across the verge, thereby causing a nuisance, in the hope they will stop him from doing so.

I don't think there is a case to sue anyone, she cannot sue the council over the actions of your neighbour unless they have given him permission to do this (which is unlikely).

sharnad

It is an offence under the highways act and it is the vechicle owners responsiblity

Maybe go to CAB and see what they say can be done about it or go to one of the companies that do personal injury claims

lucylocket2008

No! do not go to a company that does personal injury claims,go direct to a solicitor.

Tozer

Pink_fluff wrote: »

Sorry, I have never heard of Eggshell skull principle, so I'm not sure what that means. No I wasn't injured, but the op said that their friend has Fibromyalgia, i'm pretty sure that is a condition opposed to an injury. It is something to do with muscle pain (and probably alot more than that) as far as I know. Surely this person seen the mud? Could they not have walked to the other side of pavement/edge of road if no traffic? I wouldn't just walk through the mud, and it must have been pretty bad if they managed to fall?

It means you take your victim as you find them. The judge in the particular case stated that you do not escape liability for fracturing someone's skull by saying that they had an unusually thin skull.

There is no claim here. You would have to show that the Council ought to have had a safe system of maintenance and that they failed in the performance of that maintenance. It is pretty much the same in any tripping and slipping case.

Funnily enough you may have more chance if it was ice on the road and the council hadn't gritted properly....

Sponge

pinkshoes wrote: »

I really don't think that suing the council will get you anywhere. They would argue that as the mud is clearly visible, then one should have taken more care.

Why not try writing to the council highlighting the problem, and asking for a response from them. Emailing them never seems to get responses, and a phone call would be better than an email.

Suing seems a bit over the top. As much as this guy shouldn't have put mud on the pavement, your friend should have taken more care whilst walking through it. If your friend can't work because of this, then can she not claim incapacity benefit if her illness is preventing her from working for periods of time?

Maybe they did take care, but still fell? Saying someone should simply watch where they're walking doesn't quite work, does it? If it did, people wouldn't get £1000s suing companies/people for not putting 'caution: wet floor' signs up when they slip on a puddle??? (I'm sure you know the adverts I'm talking of.)

I think you need to take legal advice. The driver of the vehicle surely has some difficult questions to answer...

Tozer

Sponge wrote: »

Maybe they did take care, but still fell? Saying someone should simply watch where they're walking doesn't quite work, does it? If it did, people wouldn't get £1000s suing companies/people for not putting 'caution: wet floor' signs up when they slip on a puddle??? (I'm sure you know the adverts I'm talking of.)

I think you need to take legal advice. The driver of the vehicle surely has some difficult questions to answer...

There is no claim here - either against the driver or the Council.

sad_dog_lady

thanks all, ok whats happened is..... council have admitted that three people in our road have complained and reported thick over 1 inch of mud on pavement and 10 ft of verge destruction.... in a conservation area by the way. my friend is hurt but she is not going to sue... what the issue is that they have had this reported and not even fined him which is 1000.00 fine for verge destruction not to mention driving over footpath to gain access to his illegal drive... awaiting letter regarding this but they have sent some one to confirm i saw them today taking photos and i have to say its very very muddy deep puddles once highway verge !! my friend is disabled and the council were appologtic but why didnt they act on information from other neighbours sooner. ????????