Hi all,
A local pothole has just claimed my two alloy n/s wheels. They have buckles and need to be replaced.
My local tyre dealer tells me that its quite common and that many people claim against the council - with some success.
Has anyone ever done this - or is it an urban myth?
Comments very welcome as the prospect of forking out over £400 dosn't fill me with any relish.
In anticipation .......
Robert
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A few months ago I hit a deep pothole. No damage, but I was livid as the roads around here are like cart-tracks but they seem to find money for all manner of PC rubbish.
I phoned the relevent dept and reported the hole, and told him he was lucky not to be getting a claim from me.
"Not me, mate - you send your claims to the compensation (or something similar) department"
So it's not unknown......
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Thanks - which council is that?Andy wrote:
>
> A few months ago I hit a deep pothole. No damage, but I was
> livid as the roads around here are like cart-tracks but they
> seem to find money for all manner of PC rubbish.
> I phoned the relevent dept and reported the hole, and told
> him he was lucky not to be getting a claim from me.
> "Not me, mate - you send your claims to the compensation (or
> something similar) department"
>
> So it's not unknown......
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Quite a few manhole covers in London are coming away from the surrounding road, leaving a three of four inch deep gap just wide enough for a motorcycle tyre!
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Never claimed but know you can , however you need to know the conditions under which they are libel for e.g. a flagstone needs to stick up at less 2" to win a claim.
Take a photo straight away , the pot hole may be repaired.
established your claim is classed as valid
get a statement from the tyre fitter
take photos of the damaged wheels
let use know your outcome
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Immediate: Evidence gathering:
Report hole forthwith to Council - see later- or Police as a danger and to create a record and maybe help someone else.
Back to the offending hole and measure it up. L x B x Depth .Photograph it from many angles in particular your line of travel on approach showing no warning signs?.
Obtain written report from your tyre dealer outlining the damage, probable cause if he can say so and the cost to replace.
House to house enquiries from anybody living nearby to try and establish how long the hole has been there and if other similar occurrences have occurred and take full details of any witnesses traced.
Follow up
Establish from local council who is responsible for the road i.e. the County Council Highways or District Council and fire off a letter to them with COPIES of your evidence claiming compensation from their Insurance. You may be lucky and succeed and if not depending on the strength of your evidence action in the Small Claims Court.
Nothing ventured - nothing gained - Good Luck
DVD
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Robert,
Excellent and sound advice from DVD - saved me the bother of having to write it out. A previous SWMBO's parents suffered this on their much loved 5 series BM which suffered a cracked alloy due to a very large pothole in a main road.
They went and took photos and measurements and I believe whilst it did take a couple of months, they successfully got a new wheel and tyre out of the council. No apology as far as I am aware though...
Best of luck
Dan
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All good advice. Suggest you use a ruler or other known article in a photo just to give scale to it. Good luck
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All been said here. I have claimed from and been paid by Local Authority for damage on 2 occasions, following such damage.
Must have evidence and preferably notify Police if a bad hazard.
KB.
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Which council did you claim from?KB wrote:
>
> All been said here. I have claimed from and been paid by
> Local Authority for damage on 2 occasions, following such
> damage.
>
> Must have evidence and preferably notify Police if a bad
> hazard.
>
> KB.
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Robert - My local council is Tameside, East manchester.
Incidentally, I've found that they will sort out road repairs if you complain and give exact location.
Andy
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You may be lucky, and I hope you are. I think some councils have managed to worm out of this by saying that they inspect all roads every 6 months and that whatever you hit has developed since their last inspection. If they try that line you should be entitled to see some inspection report. As others have said, please let us know how you get on!
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Robert,
May be one for your insurer to sort out. Lots of very sound advice has already been given, I would add that digital photos may be dismissed because they can be altered on a computer, and even if the pothole has developed since the last inspection the council as highway authority has a duty to maintain the road in an safe condition for road users. The class of road will also be relevant, the higher the class (m-way, trunk, A, B, C or unclassified) the more likely you are to be successful. The local Parish Council can often help about how long the hole has been there.
Good luck!
Rob S
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A pot hole in Porthcawl ripped my sump off. I sent a letter to the council with an estimate from BMW for £300 it would take to fix. They gave me the £300 and I sorted it myself.
Good luck
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I've had a go at this as well and failed. I even had the (Tory) MP on my side haranguing the (Tory) council, but no cigar. "We are obliged to check the roads every two years, and we've done that, so tough." In other words, they decide whether the road is ok, and then decide whether to pay compensation. Fair? Er, no. Incidentally, they thanked me for reporting the pothole. How nice.
Chris
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Chris R,
If that is their approach then it's time to take it to the small claims court, the fact that they only inspect it every 2 years is not a valid defence. What they mean is their inspection regime is not adequate and their insurer won't cover the cost, believe me, I have inside knowledge......!
Rob S
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Interesting Rob,
Perhaps you can advise me what things to say to further my cause and waht things not to say.
In anticipation .......
Robert
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They argued that they were within their statutory obligations for road inspections - I think the rules vary between the road classification. In the end I dropped it because the cost/hassle of continuing wasn't worth it; the damage was only a dented (steel) wheel and a broken wheel trim. Kent's back roads were a menace a few years ago. One thing I did find out though, is that if there are any signs of the hole having been marked for repair (but not coned off), then you have a chance - blue markings for water board, white for council.
Chris
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In Manila when the monsoon floods the roads they STEAL the manhole covers.....
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Robert
DVD's advice is very sound. A friend of mine suffered damage to the rear suspension of his Alfa Romeo after hitting a pot hole and successfuly claimed off Hove (or East Sussex - can't remember which) council. Mind you, it was back in the seventies, but he can't have been the only one.
Ian
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The local authority has a duty to maintain the highway and you will have a claim against the council if you suffer injury or damage to property as a result of a defect in the road.
s58 of the Highways Act 1980 gives the Local Auth a possible defence as follows....
(1) In an action against a highway authority in respect of damage resulting from their failure to maintain a highway maintainable at the public expense it is a defence (without prejudice to any other defence or the application of the law relating to contributory negligence) to prove that the authority had taken such care as in all the circumstances was reasonably required to secure that the part of the highway to which the action relates was not dangerous for traffic.
(2) For the purposes of a defence under subsection (1) above, the court shall in particular have regard to the following matters:?
(a) the character of the highway, and the traffic which was reasonably to be expected to use it;
(b) the standard of maintenance appropriate for a highway of that character and used by such traffic;
(c) the state of repair in which a reasonable person would have expected to find the highway;
(d) whether the highway authority knew, or could reasonably have been expected to know, that the condition of the part of the highway to which the action relates was likely to cause danger to users of the highway;
(e) where the highway authority could not reasonably have been expected to repair that part of the highway before the cause of action arose, what warning notices of its condition had been displayed;
but for the purposes of such a defence it is not relevant to prove that the highway authority had arranged for a competent person to carry out or supervise the maintenance of the part of the highway to which the action relates unless it is also proved that the authority had given him proper instructions with regard to the maintenance of the highway and that he had carried out the instructions.
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Who you submit the claim to can be difficult to trace.
In principle the Highway agency are resonsible for A roads and Motorways and the local council responsible for all else.
However councils often act in an "agency" capacity for the Highway Agency for A roads.
My own experience on the A48 of a loose cast iron cat's eye base was resolved by the Highway agency .
It does again highlight the need to carry a camera in the car at all times so you can prove that there was a problem AND record the location photographically , not just the offending hole etc as one hole looks very much like another.
I hope this helps.
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