Pot Hole Damage

laurenps88

Hello, 
I hit a pot hole a few weeks back. It completely shattered my wheel, snapped the cv axle and tore through my gear box. The car had to be picked up on a flatbed and was subsequently written off. 

I have been paid out from my insurer, however it was an old car so I didn’t get much. I’m now without a car and completely out of pocket if I want to get a replacement. 

I was going to make a claim with the council however I’ve since found out it was a private road. 

I’ve spoken to the local highways agency and highways England. They simply said it wasn’t their problem. 

I don’t know where to go from here. How do I find out who owns the road? 

I’ve contacted multiple solicitors but they’ve all said they’ll only take on my case if I’ve sustained injury- which I haven’t. 

Is it a waste of time to pursue this? 

Car_54

Your insurer has already paid you, presumably the value of the car. What else do you think you can claim for?
If anyone has a valid claim against the road owner it is your insurance company.

DB1904

[Deleted User] said:

Your insurer has already paid you, presumably the value of the car. What else do you think you can claim for?
If anyone has a valid claim against the road owner it is your insurance company.

Maybe the excess. 

Sandtree

When your insurers paid out they inherited your right to recover their outlay from whoever caused the incident (assuming it wasnt your fault) and so the first thing to do is to speak to their Recoveries department and ask them if they are attempting to recover from anyone/how its progressing. There is a chance they've registered it as a single party incident and so it hasnt been passed to Recoveries but that depends a little on the quality of the claims handlers.

If they are attempting recovery then you can ride their coat tails and look to get your uninsured losses after them. 

If they have decided that there are no realistic prospects you have to decide if you agree or not. Not sure why you contacted the Highways Agency, it looks residential and therefore if its an adopted road it would be the local council. If its an unadopted road then it will be more complex to find out who owns it and more importantly their duty of care will be much lower than a public body like the council.

Grey_Critic

If it is a private road how come it has double yellow lines

Sandtree

Grey_Critic said:

If it is a private road how come it has double yellow lines

Its not only councils that can buy yellow paint... several car parks we use have double yellow lines on bits they dont want you parking in

laurenps88

DB1904 said:

[Deleted User] said:

Your insurer has already paid you, presumably the value of the car. What else do you think you can claim for?
If anyone has a valid claim against the road owner it is your insurance company.

Maybe the excess. 

Yes, while the insurance has paid me out, it was an old car so I only got £1.5k minus £500 excess. My car was incredibly well maintained but for that price I’m only able to get a car in today’s market which is older or in excess of 150k miles. I by no means wants a brand spanking new car, but I am going to be out of pocket in order to get myself something decent. 

I guess that’s just the way of it, and my own bad luck.  But I thought I’d just ask if there was anymore I could do in the way of claiming from the actual road owners. My insurers said as it’s a total loss they had no interest in pursuing any other party and if I wanted to go down that route I’d have to do it by myself. 

troffasky

IIWY I would "take a hint" that if a solicitor doesn't want to take it on, then it's probably a lost cause.

Grey_Critic

Sandtree said:

Grey_Critic said:

If it is a private road how come it has double yellow lines

Its not only councils that can buy yellow paint... several car parks we use have double yellow lines on bits they dont want you parking in

But does it have any legal standing?

Sandtree

troffasky said:

IIWY I would "take a hint" that if a solicitor doesn't want to take it on, then it's probably a lost cause.

No, under £10,000 of property damage with no injuries then the solicitor cannot claim anything from the defendant. No solicitor with morality will take on a case where if the claimant wins they end up paying their solicitor more than what they win. 

Grey_Critic said:

Sandtree said:

Grey_Critic said:

If it is a private road how come it has double yellow lines

Its not only councils that can buy yellow paint... several car parks we use have double yellow lines on bits they dont want you parking in

But does it have any legal standing?

No, but doesn’t stop people painting it because we’ve learnt that double yellow means no stopping 

DB1904

Sandtree said:

troffasky said:

IIWY I would "take a hint" that if a solicitor doesn't want to take it on, then it's probably a lost cause.

No, under £10,000 of property damage with no injuries then the solicitor cannot claim anything from the defendant. No solicitor with morality will take on a case where if the claimant wins they end up paying their solicitor more than what they win. 

Grey_Critic said:

Sandtree said:

Grey_Critic said:

If it is a private road how come it has double yellow lines

Its not only councils that can buy yellow paint... several car parks we use have double yellow lines on bits they dont want you parking in

But does it have any legal standing?

No, but doesn’t stop people painting it because we’ve learnt that double yellow means no stopping 

They mean no waiting.