{"id":13098,"date":"2013-07-12T12:20:53","date_gmt":"2013-07-12T11:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theinjurylawyers.co.uk\/injury-lawyers-blog\/?p=13098"},"modified":"2013-07-12T12:21:07","modified_gmt":"2013-07-12T11:21:07","slug":"highways-act-1980-compensation-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theinjurylawyers.co.uk\/injury-lawyers-blog\/2013\/07\/12\/highways-act-1980-compensation-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"Highways Act 1980 Compensation Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"HighwaysHighways agencies and local authorities have a duty to maintain highways. Slips, trips and falls<\/a> on defective highways, streets, roads and pathways are very common.<\/p>\n

Common defects can include potholes, cracked or broken paving slabs, missing manhole covers, uneven ground and no barriers or rails found on public walkways and stairs.<\/p>\n

The Highways Act 1980<\/strong> is the act for governing and maintaining the highways. Under S41 of the 1980 Act, the local authority have a duty to maintain the highways, and that duty \u2018is to ensure as reasonably practicable<\/em>\u2019 that the public will have a safe passage along the highway.
\n<\/p>\n

S58 sets out the special defence which local authorities can call on if needed. Local authorities may have a defence, if they have taken all reasonably required steps to secure that the part of the highway in question, to prevent the highway from being unsafe or dangerous. When considering the reasonable steps the following needs to be considered:<\/p>\n