Pothole rights for compensation

LucyLocket99

After all of the bad weather that we had earlier in the year I was unfortunate enough to damage my vehicle by hitting a very large pothole in the road. Replacement/repair costs came to £300 for which I placed a claim against my local Council.

After waiting weeks for a response they have now written to tell me that for a claim to be successful against the Local Authority it is necessary to show they have either negligent and/or in breach of their statutory duty to maintain the highway. The defect was identified on 15th January and a repair took place on 4th Feb. They feel that this was in a reasonable timeframe taking account of the limited resources and the extent and nature of the defect.

I damaged my vehicle on 3rd February and whilst inspecting the pothole another lady stopped who had damaged her vehicle the night before and now has a bill for £1000 which the council will not accept liability for. We both reported the pot hole on the Monday 4th February and it was fixed that day, if just seems a little suspicious to me.

Does anyone know what my rights are and if I have a case against the council? Would really appreciate some help.

Thanks.

4743hudsonj

http://www.potholes.co.uk/claims/step_by_step_guide

Step 4 is of interest.

pinkshoes

I would ask them for the details of who reported the pot hole on the 15th, what time it was reported, and the report number, as it sounds all too convenient. In Oxfordshire the ones I reported took a couple of weeks to get circled with white spray, then about a week later got repaired.

Wings_of_Ambition

I think Step 7 of the guide linked to above is probably the important one. It says "Consider your case carefully - if the council's inspection policy mirrors the national code and they've followed what they are supposed to, your claim is unlikely to succeed." The national code is also available for download on that link.

tbw

There is a section in the Highways Act (think it might be 51 but not sure) - Councils appear to be only liable if they knew about the pothole before you had your accident.

A couple of years ago (February time) I ruined a car tyre when I hit a 5 " deep hole around the adge of a gulley cover. The pointed corner of the exposed cover went right through the tyre. The Highways people maintained that they weren't liable as nobody had told them about the pothole before me. They said they had inspected that stretch of road a week earlier and they hadn't seen the hole

The hole didn't look like a new one - even had bits of weed growing in it! I opened a Small Claims dispute and the council backed down & coughed up the cash a couple of days before the court hearing.

Its worth a try - looks like they werre made aware of the problem a couple of weeks before you hit it.

Proc

LucyLocket99 wrote: »

After all of the bad weather that we had earlier in the year I was unfortunate enough to damage my vehicle by hitting a very large pothole in the road.

Why couldn't you use the brake? Or try the steering wheel.

I don't think I've ever hit a pothole in my life. Yes, they're annoying, but you can't expect perfect roads all the time. As a driver, you should be equipped to avoid potential hazards.

You're just a bad driver and looking for blame.

fozzeh

Proc wrote: »

Why couldn't you use the brake? Or try the steering wheel.

I don't think I've ever hit a pothole in my life. Yes, they're annoying, but you can't expect perfect roads all the time. As a driver, you should be equipped to avoid potential hazards.

You're just a bad driver and looking for blame.

Wow.

Just wow.

re-rewind

Proc wrote: »

Why couldn't you use the brake? Or try the steering wheel.

I don't think I've ever hit a pothole in my life. Yes, they're annoying, but you can't expect perfect roads all the time. As a driver, you should be equipped to avoid potential hazards.

You're just a bad driver and looking for blame.

A bit out of order in my opinion, theres a limit on how far you can move out the way and if theres oncoming traffic then your evening more limited, if theres oncoming traffic, and a cyclist, your limited even more, you cant call her a bad driver, you were not in the situation at the time.

Zandoni

Proc wrote: »

Why couldn't you use the brake? Or try the steering wheel.

I don't think I've ever hit a pothole in my life. Yes, they're annoying, but you can't expect perfect roads all the time. As a driver, you should be equipped to avoid potential hazards.

You're just a bad driver and looking for blame.

Show me a person who has never hit a pothole and I'll show you a liar......

gordikin

Zandoni wrote: »

Show me a person who has never hit a pothole and I'll show you a liar......

My MIL..she doesn't drive! So you are what?

tbw

Proc wrote: »

Why couldn't you use the brake? Or try the steering wheel.

I don't think I've ever hit a pothole in my life. Yes, they're annoying, but you can't expect perfect roads all the time. As a driver, you should be equipped to avoid potential hazards.

You're just a bad driver and looking for blame.

Another unhelpful and rather rude comment. You can't always see potholes in time to avoid them and I have had problems with them myself. There is nothing wrong with my eyesight or my driving skills and, however 'equipped' you may be, there are times when you simply cannot avoid the pothole. It is not a case of bad drivers looking for someone to blame.