Claims can be successful. In fact there was £53 million paid in compensation for pothole related damage and injury last year according to this website:
www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/story/?nID=47220
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thats ridculous when you consider the cost for repairing all the potholes would have been a fraction of the cost..........our taxes at work eh!!
Edited by welshlad on 17/06/2008 at 18:32
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>>I think the reports are picked up on laptops by the guys in the repair trucks.>>
In my area the road repair crews can only repair what they are told to do; I've pointed out holes within a few yards of a repair and just get a shrug of the shoulders. Most realise the stupidity of the situation, but it's all down to costs.
Re insurance claims. Every council has insurance cover for most events including, for instance, damage caused to vehicles by poor roads or to pedestrians tripping over uneven paving stones.
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I had a court case in which I won in court over £1500 worth of repairs.
Take some very high resolution photos of the hole and damage while you can. Try to take a photo which also shows the material which has been ejected from the hole, as this will give an idea of how long the hole took to form. Place an object in the hole for scale (such as a 6" ruler) on some photographs. Take photos which show the condition of the fabric of the road around the hole, trying to show similar defects, scalloping and crazing/cracking. All of this will form the majority of your evidence, so the quality of it is critical, the rest is hearsay.
You should inform the council of the hole, and take pictures when it has been repaired too.
You should have two new tyres, a new wheel, and have the suspension and spring checked, and any items replaced which the mechanic feels were not designed to safely take such abuse. You should replace both tyres, and any other item which should be replaced in pairs such as springs, but then deduct a fair proportion from your total to account for being in a better position (such as better tread depth) this shows that you are being reasonable.
Many councils have sold such liability to an American law firm, so say the council spends £5m a year on settling claims, a company such as Gallagher Bassett www.gallagherbassett.com/ will be paid £4.9M to take the liability off their hands, saving the council £100,000 and the law firm will then be as obstructive and ruthless as possible, using synergistic combination with their quality positioning in order to make a profit.
Good luck!
Edited by Hamsafar on 17/06/2008 at 19:08
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