We can help you claim
compensation following an accident
illness or injury - nationwide
Call: 0800 10 757 95
The cold winters in the UK play havoc on the state of the roads and drivers have to contend with more potholes every year. If potholes are not filled in by the highway authorities, they can damage cars or cause a serious personal injury to a cyclist who could later make a road accident claim.
Although in 2011 the Government pledged £100million to fill in the increasing number of potholes in the road, that was unlikely to be sufficient permanently to solve the problem. Simply patching up the surface is not enough and it doesn't take much time for the road to become rutted again.
The worst roads affected are B-roads and C-roads which need to be completely resurfaced at regular intervals to solve the problem, however, resurfacing is a rare occurrence for these roads.
A pothole can cause damage to a car's wheels, suspension and axles which can all be expensive to fix and, more importantly, may cause a car crash or other traffic collision.
It can be difficult to make a claim against the local authority responsible for the road where the pothole is located, but it is possible. It is important to gather as much evidence as possible by taking a photo of the pothole and measuring its length, width and depth, but only if it is safe to do so.
A report of the incident itself is also useful, recording where the pothole was, when it happened and what the damage caused to the vehicle, with any receipts that a repair might have necessitated.
The incident then needs to be reported to the relevant authority as well as a written detailed account, including any personal details, photos and any repair bills.
Making a request for Freedom of Information (FOI) to the council before making a claim can prove to be useful as it should discover whether the authorities were previously aware of the pothole and whether anything had been done about it.
Although it is most likely that the council will say that it had done everything within its power to avoid the incident, a FOI could prove otherwise. When checked against the national code of good practice for highway maintenance, it may suggest that the council didn't try hard enough to fix the problem.
If the claim is still not going any further then it is possible to seek compensation through the small claims court where professional legal advice may help to win the case.
Making a compensation claim for a road accident
Suffering a personal injury from a road accident can be a traumatic and painful experience. However, if you can prove that the accident was not your fault, you may be entitled to make a compensation claim.
Call YouClaim today to talk to one of our legal advisors about making a road accident claim on 0800 10 757 95.
