6ft wide/1ft deep pothole - Council deny liability..

8th September 2011

I hit 2 potholes on a local road, one of which was over 1 ft deep.

My alloy wheel dented and I had to purchase a replacement and align my wheels again.
I took pictures and made a claim also requesting information under the FOIA. Medway Council did not respond to this request and took 4 months to respond. They deny liability claiming that the road if checked annually.
However, the size and depth of the potholes together with smaller potholes in the local village road (around 20 more) should bring there quality standards and danger to traffic users under question. Surely, this is on the verge of negligence. Small potholes I understand the need for S58 but around 6ft long and over 1ft deep, surely it speaks for itself doesn't it?
Please could you advise on my course of action to follow up on this - Should I just go to the papers with my photos?
Should I be successful in my claim given the size of the pothole I hit (6ft wide , 1ft deep) or are the Council not liable as they check the local road annually and I hit the hole 2 days before a year expired since the previous check? Please could you advice me?
Many thanks
Michael

Replies (1)

Potholes.co.uk Expert     posted : 09/09/11 at 11:28 am

Trying to prove or even suggest that a road was not fit for purpose is very hard and I don't suggest you go down that road.

I appreciate that the size sounds dramatic, but in many ways it probably helps them instead of you. A pothole of that size is unlikely to be an actual pothole which has deteriorated over time as road surface material is rarely laid a foot deep, but a large failure perhaps caused by something below the road surface.

If the hole did occur over a long period then you need to establish is anyone reported it to the Council before you hit it. If not, you need to ask yourself how were they supposed to know about it?

The other avenue to consider is the annual inpsection. Not many roads qualify for just 1 inspection so I would be investigating what type of road it was.