Victory for the small man!!

by mickyb

16 Jan 2010

Hi - Just thought I would let everyone know the results of my small claims action against Newcastle City Council for £175 damage to my car caused by potholes.

Car was damaged on a shocking piece of road where numerous potholes had developed and where subsequently filled in with tarmac by the council.Despite photographic evidence the council claimed protection under S58 of the Highways Act.

Been to court on Thursday and won with council found liable and ordered to repay me £175 plus my costs.

I used this site to get some guidance on how to pursue my claim and it was very helpful. Please follow the guides and do not give up if you feel you have a genuine case but do your research.

Council admitted not following the Code of Practice for Highway Maintenace. Check with yours - if they do not then they must be able to demonstrate what procedures they do follow and how they meet the same standards of the CoP. It even tells them that if they want protection under S58 they must be able to do this!

Secondly I claimed repairing potholes with tarmac is a 'temporary' repair and must be followed up with a 'permanent' repair as stated in the CoP. The judge agreed.

The council had spent years bodging this road but never fixing it properly. Therefore they cannot claim that failure of the same patch of road could be 'unforeseen'. They claimed this is an accepted method of permanent repair followed by all councils which is why I think they defended the case. The judge disagreed with this approach and stated the repair could not be considered permanent and they had failed to maintain the highway correctly.
The judge give them short shrift - despite them turning up with 2 solicitors and 3 council workers the small man stuck to the facts and won!!!

In summing up I would say this-
If you hit a pothole on a well maintained section of road and the council has regular inspections in place - forget it and accept the costs as I think you will lose. However if the road is in poor repair, has been for a long period of time and has history of multiple pothole repairs that have never been repaired properly - cut, edge sealed and rolled etc and you damage your vehicle on an old area of repair then go at them from this angle. I think you have a chance as the judges also drive cars and mine commented on the shocking state of the roads in general.

Hope this story helps others and good luck !!!