pothole claim

boj27

Hi guys,

I have tried a fast claim through Leeds city council for a pothole accident which lead to me having to replace 2 tyres. The letter they have come back with is as follows:

https://gyazo.com/e7ba07e8ff5bc263f4ca3c4d98452234
https://gyazo.com/b80bc69d6dc659ddb01cefdf77f212a3

my question is, as they only inspect the road once a year, in my full claim FOI request, do i specify that I want to see all safety inspections from the past year or all safety inspections within the past 60 days as in the template letter?

thanks.

straighttalker

Well if you request records of inspections for the last 60 days, it's not going to catch the inspection that was carried out in January is it?

unforeseen

They've told you they do it annually which has been accepted by the courts as sufficient for the class of road and that the last examination was Jan 16.

Unless you are claiming that the council are lying about the inspection, what are you hoping to find out?

boj27

I guess what I'm hoping for is for some guidance on what the next step would be in regards of a claim as my fast claim has been rejected. I find advice on here very helpful!

straighttalker

They've said they will disclose the documents if requested so request them!

If there is evidence of an inspection in January and the carriageway is one that only requires annual inspections, there's not much you can do. Are you going to hire a solicitor to fight your case and challenge the validity of the inspection? For the cost of 2 tyres, nobody is going to take your case on as they won't recover any costs. Plus nobody will be willing to take on a case where the council have a valid s.58 defence.

Crabman

Don't you also need to ask for all reports submitted that refer to the road in question and in the general area (e.g. if a pothole was reported on a neighbouring road, and the only way for the inspector to get there was to travel past the scene where your incident occurred).

I'd also check independent sites to see if anyone reported it or a nearby hazard:

http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/hazards

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

http://streetrepairs.co.uk/

Around Birmingham the highways authority's private contractor (Amey) claims to carry out monthly inspections on major A-roads, but I can only assume the inspection team are either visually impaired or wear a blindfold whend doing so. There are serious hazards that have been there for months that only get repaired when someone reports them.

AdrianC

I'd just treat it as a lesson, and improve how effectively I use that big bit of glass in front of your nose.

But, hey, why take responsibility for pointing your car at a bloody great big hole in the road?

neilmcl

Although the road is one that only requires an annual inspection, you might still have a case if the pot hole/road damage in question has been reported to the council in the meantime and they've not taken reasonable steps to repair it. However, I think you'll find this extremely difficult to prove.

unforeseen

neilmcl wrote: »

Although the road is one that only requires an annual inspection, you might still have a case if the pot hole/road damage in question has been reported to the council in the meantime and they've not taken reasonable steps to repair it. However, I think you'll find this extremely difficult to prove.

Have a look at the first picture that the OP provided a link for. Council have already stated that it has not been reported by any means.

neilmcl

unforeseen wrote: »

Have a look at the first picture that the OP provided a link for. Council have already stated that it has not been reported by any means.

My post was more of a general point that annual inspections etc don't automatically let councils off the hook if it comes to a negligence claim.

DKLS

You need crampons to get out of some of the potholes in Leeds.