Pot hole claims - declined by concil

Admanirv

Hi All,
Hit a pothole in the new year, took pictures/measurements (was more than 4cm deep), reported in on council reporting system and scanned in all receipts.
I required a new tyre and alignment at the cost of £188, put claim in using council claim system surprise surprise it was rejected - looks like they are using defence of we check the road every once a year (road is a mess) and included safety inspections - one due next month. Do i have any options to pursue the claim or go through small claims court? - i have never done this before and unsure if its worth it?

Any advice?
Thanks

See below the response..

The Council have investigated the circumstances surrounding your accident.

You may be aware that there is no automatic right to compensation in such circumstances and the Council, as Highway Authority, will only become liable to pay compensation when the accident can be said to have arisen due to fault on their part.

To comply with their duties under the Highways Act 1980 the Council operate a system for inspection and maintenance of the roads and footpaths for which they are responsible.

The area where the accident occurred is examined on a regular annual, driven basis and at the date of the last inspection prior to the accident, which took place on  18/2/2020, no actionable defect was evident nor have there been any subsequent  reports submitted to the Council notifying them of a problem at this location.

The Council also have no knowledge of any other work undertaken by contractors that may have contributed towards the defect. Consequently at the time of the accident the Council were unaware that a defect existed.

On the basis of the information presented we consider that the Council have complied with their duties under the Highways Act 1980 and we see no evidence that the accident has arisen due to neglect or breach of duty on their part.

Whilst we are very sorry to learn of this accident liability is denied and we are unable to make any offer of compensation.

We attach the Councils documentation verifying their activity in this area over the preceding 12 months

 

You are entitled to take legal advice. If you do not have a solicitor, you may wish to contact the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) on 0115 958 0585 to obtain the name of a suitably qualified expert solicitor in your area. Their advice may also be free to you or, alternatively, you may wish to contact the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Supersonos

The council can't check the thousands of miles of road under their care every day in case a pothole has appeared.

If they can prove they carried out the annual check and no-one had reported this particular pothole, you'll get nowhere.

AdrianC

The local authority are correct.

I presume this is a relatively minor route?

Admanirv

Thanks for the responses, I suppose I'm expecting too much where in Germany they build the roads to last not to the bear minimum and don't dig them up every 5 minutes.

Looks like a pretty solid catch all get out of jail card by the council.

Thanks 

Supersonos

Admanirv said:

I suppose I'm expecting too much where in Germany they build the roads to last not to the bear minimum and don't dig them up every 5 minutes.

What an odd comment.  

That's very nice for the Germans.

scrappy_returns

Use Martin's pothole guide for advice, not this forum