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A personal injury lawyer who successfully secured accident compensation for a cyclist injured after hitting a pothole in Berkshire spoke afterwards about the complexities of suing local authorities for lack of road maintenance.
He said firstly that injuries suffered as a result of collision with a pothole won't always mean that compensation will be paid. A damages award will depend on a wide range of factors and local authority procedure. Legal advice from a personal injury solicitor is therefore always recommended.
The lawyer stated that it is the duty of the authority responsible for road safety under the Highways Act 1980 to keep local roads in a state that is fit for ordinary traffic and that will keep all road users safe.
However, if a personal injury or accident occurs because the highway is not in a fit state, the onus is on the claimant to show that the road was not reasonably safe, though the claimant does not have to prove fault on the part of the local authority.
The lawyer suggests that in a pothole compensation case, the working practices of the local authority will be investigated. If a reasonable system of inspection and maintenance which could not have reasonably prevented the incident can be shown, then the authority may escape liability.
If it can be shown that road users have alerted the authority to the danger of the road hazard then there is an automatic obligation to carry out repairs. Inspection records and complaints records are therefore useful tools in the personal injury lawyer's case if the highway authority denies culpability.
The lawyer in the Berkshire cyclist's case suggested that a road's state of repair is relative to the type of thoroughfare it is. He said, "We must remember that the obligation of the highway authority differs depending on the type of the road and those that use it. For example, a road might present no dangers whatsoever to car drivers, but on the other hand, it might present foreseeable risks to cyclists."
In the event of a pothole accident the following steps should be taken that will prove useful in a personal injury compensation claim:
Personal injury lawyers and pothole accident compensation
The above measures will help considerably in proving the local highway authority's liability in the event of an accident involving a pothole. If you have suffered injury as a result of such an accident here at YouClaim we can help you win accident compensation on a totally risk free basis.
Our experienced legal professionals work on a no win, no fee basis that means you are protected from all legal fees and costs whether your case is successful or not, and in a won case you are guaranteed to receive 100 per cent of any compensation awarded – we never take a penny. What's more, all our no win, no fee solicitors are governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, a branch of The Law Society, which guarantees the highest standards of professionalism at all times.
Contact us today
You can speak to one of our friendly yet knowledgeable advisors by calling our free and confidential UK helpline on 0800 10 757 95 or we can always call you back at a time to suit you.
Alternatively, you may wish to fill in our online claim form giving us brief details of your claim and then one of our personal injury lawyers will look into the details of the accident before we discuss going ahead with the claim.
