Dont be afraid to take your council to The Small Claims Court

by totallyeddible

21 Apr 2007

Hello everyone. I am taking St Helens Council to court next Wednesday as I was a driving my Smart ‘For Two’ and I drove over a pothole on 25/06/06 at the junction of Chapel Lane and Millbrook Lane, Eccleston. The council deny liability for this and they say they have not been negligent.

A chunk of alloy was taken out of my wheel, the vehicle ‘shook’ when I drove over the pothole. I had owned the car for just four weeks.

If the council are not liable for this damage then who is? They are in charge of maintaining and repairing the roads in the borough; nobody else is responsible for road repairs. As a result, how can they not be held liable for this damage?

Under Section 58 of The Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highway, I do not agree that the council has a ‘reasonable’ inspection scheme in place as if they had, potholes of this size and depth would not be appearing in the roads of St Helens.

I totally disagree with their claim that St Helens Council have not been negligent as this pothole was not seen by their repair team let alone identified for repair. The pothole was situated on a very busy road through Eccleston village. As soon as they received my complaint the pothole was thankfully filled in within 3 days. However, this was 3 days too late for me. This does not remedy the fact that I drove over this pothole and caused damage to my new car. It is plain to see from the photographs I took that the pothole in question is deeper and wider than what the council say it measured, and damage would have been caused to a car driving over it. If their inspection procedure worked more effectively I would not be in this position with damage to my vehicle, as the pothole would have been repaired as soon as it developed.

I hope to prove they are liable to pay compensation, as they should have made an effort to ensure roads in the borough are safe and free from defects.

The council has provided me with a report on the site assessment on 14/07/06 but I do not agree with the figures on this as they state the pothole was measuring 370mm x 300mm with a depth of 50mm. These figures differ from the measurements I took on the date of the incident and it can be clearly seen from the photographs I took that the pothole is larger than what the council state it was before it was repaired.

Furthermore, as the council state their last site visit to this area was 03/05/06 and there was no pothole there and they say they carry out inspections every months AND the pothole I drove over on 25/06/06 was so large it caused my car to vibrate when I drove over it, could you not argue the inspections should be more frequent if potholes of this size and scale can appear within the 3 month inspection period? Does this evidence not prove the current road inspection scheme inadequate?

The repair cost for refurbishing my alloy wheel is just £80.00.

I have negotiated with the council till I am blue in the face and had no joy, I will let you all know how I get on.

If you have drove or rode over a pothole recently and caused damage to your car, dont be afraid to complain and threaten your council with legal action... It is easy and you don't need a solicitor. They will try to bamboozle you with fancy trial bundles and legal jargon but do not be intimidated and see it through!

Regards,
Edd