Potholes, protruding pavements, and poorly maintained pathways; they are all things that local authorities have a clear duty to ensure to protect the public from. But what is the extent of the duty the council has, and when can a claim be brought against them? To be honest, it can be somewhat of a grey area…
If a person is injured due to the state of the highways, then it is possible that they have a claim for compensation. Generally speaking, the defect has to be sufficient enough to warrant action from the local authority. It’s difficult to gauge – but if a hole is deep enough or a pavement is raised enough, and work clearly needs to be done, then a claim can be brought against the relevant authority.
So, what are the ins and outs of what has become the big battle between lawyers and councils?
Well, we lawyers are fighting for the victims of negligent authorities that have been injured due to the state of the highways. Tripping over a raised paving slab may seem like a minor claim – but landing hard on a solid pavement can result in some pretty nasty injuries. And we are here to make sure the victims can access the compensation they are duly entitled to.
On the flip side of the coin, councils are obviously unhappy with the amount of claims they receive, and are displeased with the use of taxpayers’ money being spent on claims. But it’s important to remember that the councils should always adhere to their duties – failing to do so means they are negligent, and a claim can be brought against them. Perhaps if they spent more time and resources on fixing the roads, the volume of claims would reduce – and it wouldn’t be so much of an issue!
So, what are the rules and regulations the local authorities must abide by? Well, this is the grey area. Under Section 58 of the Highways Act, local authorities have a statutory defence against liability claims if they can prove that they have taken all reasonable steps to ensure the highways under their jurisdiction are safe to use. This statement is circumstantial – there are no proper time lengths or clearly set out regimes. It’s all about what is reasonable and practical. For example, we would expect that a very busy stretch of highway is inspected at least every three to six months. A much less busier road can sometimes only need an annual inspection.
It is the duty of the council to ensure they regularly inspect and maintain all the highways under their jurisdiction. So if they fail to inspect them enough, and a person is injured, then it is highly likely a claim will be successful. On the maintenance aspect of the rules, if a council is made aware of a highway defect, they must either repair the defect or prevent the public from accessing it as soon as possible. Again, failing to do so is likely to lead to a successful claim for compensation.
It’s difficult at the inception stage of a case to know whether the claimant has a valid claim or not. Under the personal injury protocol, the highway authority or their insurers have just under 4 months to investigate a claim and provide their decision on whether they believe they should make a payout or not. If they are going to dispute a claim, they must provide records of their inspections or maintenance to prove that they are not at fault.
So sadly, it’s difficult for lawyers to be able to advise a client immediately as to whether they have a claim or not. All we can do is initiate the claim with the local authority, and await their response. We specialists will review any records provided by the authority, and we will thoroughly research a defence on behalf of a client.
For further expert advice on claiming for compensation, don’t hesitate to give us a call for a free, no obligation chat about your options.
