Broken manhole cover advice

NorfolkBroad

Sorry to bump my old thread but we still haven't got this sorted. The council said it wasn't their responsibility and Anglian Water also said as it wasn't in the road it wasn't theirs so I'm back to square one.

Luckily the manhole cover in our patio was the same size so I was able to swap it over, but now I need to replace that one. I was told to just get some durbar plate cut to size by a local fabricator and have just found a company in the nearest town to us who can do this. Can anyone advise what thickness of plate I would need please? It's now only required to support pedestrian traffic. Thanks.

photome

What did the skip hire company say when you asked them to foot the bill

unholyangel

Does the land form part of your property in the deeds?

If so, I'm not sure what sites your son was checking, but the skip company looks to have failed to carry out their obligations with reasonable care and skill which has caused you a loss. If that is the case, then they are liable for it.

Poppie68

unholyangel wrote: »

Does the land form part of your property in the deeds?

If so, I'm not sure what sites your son was checking, but the skip company looks to have failed to carry out their obligations with reasonable care and skill which has caused you a loss. If that is the case, then they are liable for it.

Did they fail to take reasonable care though? Surely if all they did was drive over it then the skip hire can't be held responsible as manhole covers are made to sustain weight and be driven over. The manhole in all probability was damaged to a degree previously so shouldn't the property owner be liable?

unholyangel

Poppie68 wrote: »

Did they fail to take reasonable care though? Surely if all they did was drive over it then the skip hire can't be held responsible as manhole covers are made to sustain weight and be driven over. The manhole in all probability was damaged to a degree previously so shouldn't the property owner be liable?

Are they though? All of them? Quite different taking a car over a pavement verge to taking a skip truck over. Those vehicles can cause damage to even driveways - which using the above would mean they're not liable as its made to be driven over

What you're arguing is that the loss was not foreseeable. I'd counter that someone driving such a large heavy vehicle should have been aware of that risk.

wealdroam

NorfolkBroad wrote: »

Sorry to bump my old thread but we still haven't got this sorted. The council said it wasn't their responsibility and Anglian Water also said as it wasn't in the road it wasn't theirs so I'm back to square one.

Luckily the manhole cover in our patio was the same size so I was able to swap it over, but now I need to replace that one. I was told to just get some durbar plate cut to size by a local fabricator and have just found a company in the nearest town to us who can do this. Can anyone advise what thickness of plate I would need please? It's now only required to support pedestrian traffic. Thanks.

Why not ask the local fabricator for his advice on the thickness of plate needed?

B&Q sell manhole covers, as do most builders merchants in the country.

nimbo

Years ago a cement truck broke a man hole cover on my mums front garden.

Driver pulled most of it out but the bit he left caused a blockage. The drain man charged £1500 to solve the issue. My step dad got really saying my sanitary products had caused half the issue - I took great pleasure explaining I didn't have periods so they must belong to the young girl next door.

we claimed the manhole cover off the cement company. And the rest off the house insurance. But with it being so long - if the skip company haven't been contacted I think you'll have a hard job getting them to cough up.

basil92

I would have pursued the Skip Hire company to replace it.

However, if it's a manhole cover over a mains drain, which is used by several properties, then I would have thought it would the water company's responsibility?

bris

Skip company are not liable, in fact it could be the other way about if your manhole cover damaged their vehicle.


You gave them permission to cross your property to deliver the skip, your property should have been able to handle the load, a defective manhole cover is your liability not theirs.

So don't for one minute think it's as easy as they broke it.

unholyangel

bris wrote: »

Skip company are not liable, in fact it could be the other way about if your manhole cover damaged their vehicle.


You gave them permission to cross your property to deliver the skip, your property should have been able to handle the load, a defective manhole cover is your liability not theirs.

So don't for one minute think it's as easy as they broke it.

Are you being serious?

The liability of a risk lies with the party who's control it is within.

Permission to enter someones property does not allow you to damage their property with impunity. It is permission to enter - thats it. Not permission to treat their belongings/property as your own.

Why would you expect a consumer to have intricate knowledge of what kind of damage a truck that size can do but you don't expect those actually operating it to know?