Pot Holes & Claiming from the Council

scaredofdebt

If the Council can prove they've not been negligent they won't pay. Actually, you may have to prove they have been negligent, ie if someone reported it a few weeks before and they've done nothing about it.

Not saying it's right though.

trinidadone

to the original person, something simular happoned to me, I drove around a bend, and was presented with a pothole, which gave me no time to avoid. As I went over the hole, there was damage to my wheel. Like you, I took pictures of the hole and wheel, i complained to the council using its complaints procedure. I got the wheel fixed and presented them with proof of works carried out by the garage. I was presented with a cheque and a sorry letter.

We pay a great deal to ensure roads are maintained. what about approaching a no win no fee company, theres plenty about

arcon5

trinidadone wrote: »

what a load of rubbish, he was driving on the road, there was a pothole which damaged his car. the council is responsible for the upkeep and maintaince of the road. case closed

No it's not case closed. Otherwise the council would be well and truly opened up to fraudulent claims.

IE
I go out and dig a hole in the road
An hour later I go back with my car which i'm about to send the scrappers anyway and drive in to it
I make a claim for 'damage'

You clearly know nothing about how negligence works!

trinidadone wrote: »

again, pointless question, his car is damage, does it matter how, where, when what

Erm, yes, yes it does!!!

arcon5

trinidadone wrote: »

to the original person, something simular happoned to me, I drove around a bend, and was presented with a pothole, which gave me no time to avoid. As I went over the hole, there was damage to my wheel. Like you, I took pictures of the hole and wheel, i complained to the council using its complaints procedure. I got the wheel fixed and presented them with proof of works carried out by the garage. I was presented with a cheque and a sorry letter.

We pay a great deal to ensure roads are maintained. what about approaching a no win no fee company, theres plenty about

Yes there is, and most for personal injury claims following a non-fault accident. IE a situation hard to disprove.

Not so may willing to take a massive punt on a potentially flimsy case which would potentially net them no more than a few hundred quid!

DUTR

Gonzo33 wrote: »

Approximately 3 months ago I skimmed a pot hole with my alloys because there was a car coming in the other direction and I had no choice but to move over for them. The pot hole was probably a foot deep and approximately 18 feet long.

My alloys split in 2 and I had to have the car lifted and taken to a local garage where the replacement cost me the best part of £1k. I also hurt my shoulder when the alloys broke due to the force of the collapse, although I do not wish to claim for that.

Long story short I completed a claim form and sent it off to the council (after reporting the pot hole) and I had a letter back this month telling me that my claim was denied - which is what I expected. I want to appeal but to be honest I don't know where to start.

Has anyone ever appealed and been successful? I don't know whether I should just accept it and suck up the 1k loss but it irks me that the roads can be so dire and the council get away with it.

As an aside the council did fill the pot hole 3 weeks after I reported it, and I do have about 60 pictures of the pot hole immediately after the incident took place.

They cannot be negligent if everyone who passed the pothole fails to report it (just like you did until after the event) bet it is repaired now eh?
It only takes a few minutes to report a pothole etc, so get that app on your phone or just waint until you get to a pc.

Ultrasonic

trinidadone wrote: »

to the original person, something simular happoned to me, I drove around a bend, and was presented with a pothole, which gave me no time to avoid.

What would you have done if you'd driven round the corner and found a queue of stationary traffic in the road? You would have crashed into the back of the queue, and it would have been your fault for driving too fast as you were unable to stop in the distance that you could see to be clear on your side of the road. (Think about this. I say it not to score points, but to genuinely encourage you to think about driving more safely.)

Ultrasonic

DUTR wrote: »

They cannot be negligent if everyone who passed the pothole fails to report it (just like you did until after the event) bet it is repaired now eh?
It only takes a few minutes to report a pothole etc, so get that app on your phone or just waint until you get to a pc.

For a 1' x 18' 'pothole' to suddenly appear we'd presumably need to be thinking about pretty serious subsidence (possibly caused by rain)?

DUTR

Ultrasonic wrote: »

For a 1' x 18' 'pothole' to suddenly appear we'd presumably need to be thinking about pretty serious subsidence (possibly caused by rain)?

I agree, though I see many posts from people who moan about potholes , you can tell when they have been reported as they are marked up, there were a few about a mile from me on the way to work, I reported the one as it was in an awkward position, 2 days later it was marked up and a week later repaired. It seems the OP may have to claim from his insurers and let the insurers battle it out with whoever is responsible for the carriageway maintainance.

facade

If there was £1000 of damage, why didn't you claim from your insurance? filling in the form that you hold the council/Highways 100% responsible for the "accident", then your insurance (and/or the ambulance chasers: you say you were injured?) can do the leg work for you.

Actually, go see the Ambulance Chasers, they will tell you for free if you have any chance of a claim against the Council.

Ultrasonic

DUTR wrote: »

I agree, though I see many posts from people who moan about potholes , you can tell when they have been reported as they are marked up, there were a few about a mile from me on the way to work, I reported the one as it was in an awkward position, 2 days later it was marked up and a week later repaired. It seems the OP may have to claim from his insurers and let the insurers battle it out with whoever is responsible for the carriageway maintainance.

Interesting point about being marked up. Presumably they don't, but if the OP's photos showed any such marking this would clearly help the case.