Claim for damage during roadworks

dannyrst

tsb wrote: »

You are getting a little bogged down here. I have no idea if someone else had to drive over exactly the same raised manhole cover as I did (due to the positioning of parked vehicles), at the exact same spot / angle / road condition etc with tyre and metalwork that I did.

Even if they did and their car survived without damage, does that make my damage any less... I think not. I know I was taking great care, nobody drives over these things at speed unless they are an idiot and I am certainly not an idiot.

Thank you to all other posters with their advice.

There is always one that has to spoil it

I don't think you get my point.

Why is it everyone else can negotiate this obstacle without even slight damage yet you managed to snap your suspension, which punctured your tyre!?

You must have done something different to everyone else (hence my first suggestion of speed), which meant you weren't careful. The council will argue this is the case and the balance of probability is that if you were as careful as you are trying to make out, someone else surely would have suffered the same fate as you.

tsb

dannyrst wrote: »

I don't think you get my point.

Why is it everyone else can negotiate this obstacle without even slight damage yet you managed to snap your suspension, which punctured your tyre!?

You must have done something different to everyone else (hence my first suggestion of speed), which meant you weren't careful. The council will argue this is the case and the balance of probability is that if you were as careful as you are trying to make out, someone else surely would have suffered the same fate as you.

I get your point but you are not reading my answer.

I do not know whether any other vehicle was damaged whilst the road surface was in that condition, I never said I had that information.

I did do something different to everyone else, I drove up the road avoiding the parked vehicles and raised manhole covers in my car. No one else did that. No two cars / drivers would take the exact same route inch for inch with exactly the same vehicle

tberry6686

If you were driving carefully and still managed to break a spring coming off a raised manhole cover then I would be wondering about the quality of the spring myself.

InsideInsurance

Tilt wrote: »

Yes I had a very similar experience about 20 years ago.

Exposed man hole cover (no tarmac 'crown' around it) ripped the inside wall of my tyre on brand new car as I negotiated the works at night. Like you, there were no warning lights or proper signage.

tsb wrote: »

There were signs on the road warning of the roadworks

Sounds like you had a very different experience 20 years ago as the OP admits there was signage unlike your case.

Its the OP's choice, send a letter before action and then take them to court. They may make the economic decision to settle as itll cost them more to go to court than simply pay but some organisations stick to principles rather than economics and so you'll add issuing, hearing fees and basic expenses to your losses.

You've hit a static object that was there to be seen and avoided and by your own admission there were warning signs which deals with the councils heightened duty of care

tsb

tberry6686 wrote: »

If you were driving carefully and still managed to break a spring coming off a raised manhole cover then I would be wondering about the quality of the spring myself.

I thought this myself, but how do you know the quality until something like this happens? The two front springs were replaced at the same time about 18 months ago.

Thanks for the input but that still does not help on whether to take the matter further. Even if the spring was of poor quality, my argument would still be that the road condition caused undue stress to the part.

straighttalker

The only other avenue of recourse for you is to issue a small claim. I doubt that you'd be successful but if you feel strongly about it, forge ahead.

Also, if you have legal expense cover with your car insurance, they may bring a claim on your behalf but only if they consider that you have a better than 50% chance of successfully pursuing the claim.

tsb

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Sounds like you had a very different experience 20 years ago as the OP admits there was signage unlike your case.

Its the OP's choice, send a letter before action and then take them to court. They may make the economic decision to settle as itll cost them more to go to court than simply pay but some organisations stick to principles rather than economics and so you'll add issuing, hearing fees and basic expenses to your losses.

You've hit a static object that was there to be seen and avoided and by your own admission there were warning signs which deals with the councils heightened duty of care

Thanks for that. Your last paragraph though does not take into consideration that if a vehicle parks parallel to a raised manhole cover (a particular high /sharp rise / drop), leaving limited road space, how then can the obstacle be avoided taking all consideration and care that is possible.

verityboo

tberry6686 wrote: »

If you were driving carefully and still managed to break a spring coming off a raised manhole cover then I would be wondering about the quality of the spring myself.

Have to agree

If the OP was driving carefully, I wouldn't have thought the stress on the spring would have been that great (compared to stress they cope with driving on poorly maintained roads at normal speeds)

If you do have a claim I would have thought it would be against the garage who fitted the faulty spring

straighttalker

I'd agree with the consensus here. Cars are designed to drive on and off kerbs. I do it all the time. Surely a kerb is higher than the raised ironworks?

tberry6686

Some cars are known for having weak springs (mazda MX-5 etc) to the point that some parts manufacturers have made uprated springs specifically for these cars. Is it possible that your type of car is known for breaking springs ?

As it stands I doubt if you have a good chance of winning a claim against the council for this. The poor quality of the road was sign posted and it is then up to the driver to decide whether or not to risk it.