using section 58 excuse

2nd July 2010

pothole damage emanating from 9 months ago - letter originally saying no, contacted you - got info from council which had different dates from their insurers - wrote again advising this and giving photos of repaired pothole which had again broken down. Now they are saying their original answer stands, apologising they had incorrect dates and saying section 58 no prior knowledge of pothole - what on earth do I do now??? There are loads and loads more potholes now in this area so I am sure they are inundated and will fob everyone off and take months doing it! Please help with what I should do next thank you

Replies (1)

Potholes.co.uk Expert     posted : 02/07/10 at 9:56 am

If their Section 58 defence is in order, there is nothing you can do as you are unable to prove negligence. There is not enough info here for anyone to say whether or not their defence is in order.

Go through the issues at step 8 of our step by step guide, and if everything is in order, you will never win this case, so give up. Most claims for pothole damage fail, because highway authorities know exactly what they need to do to satisfy the law.

It is not the highway authority's fault - this is what the law says. Furthermore, public spending continues to be cut, so you will come across more and more potholes as the money is not being made available to repair our roads.