{"id":14317,"date":"2013-11-20T12:25:56","date_gmt":"2013-11-20T12:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theinjurylawyers.co.uk\/injury-lawyers-blog\/?p=14317"},"modified":"2013-11-20T12:25:56","modified_gmt":"2013-11-20T12:25:56","slug":"pothole-accidents-will-i-win-if-i-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theinjurylawyers.co.uk\/injury-lawyers-blog\/2013\/11\/20\/pothole-accidents-will-i-win-if-i-claim\/","title":{"rendered":"Pothole Accidents – Will I Win if I Claim?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"potholePotholes are a common feature on public highways all over the country. They come in all shapes and sizes; whilst some are only a few inches deep they can grow to a number of feet in width! If you have ever suffered a personal injury as a result of a pothole in a public place, you could be entitled to make a claim.<\/p>\n

The Law<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whether you can win a claim predominantly boils down to what is classed as reasonable. This can be difficult to interpret and often leaves potential claimants confused as to whether they have grounds for a successful claim. It is useful to have knowledge that the duty is to maintain the highways and take action if a defect is dangerous enough.
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Reasonable Danger<\/strong><\/p>\n

Those in authority for maintaining a highway need to take action in the instance of a defect in that area if that defect is seen to be a “reasonable danger<\/em><\/strong>” to the public. This means that the size of a pothole and the severity of any defect can affect the success of your claim. Any pothole or defect must be deemed bad enough to be classed as “unreasonable<\/em><\/strong>” for a successful claim.<\/p>\n

As an authority only has to maintain a road to a “reasonable<\/em><\/strong>” standard, lawyers commonly use the “one inch rule<\/em><\/strong>” when determining reasonability in relation to potholes. This generally means that the pot hole should be at least one inch deep. Providing the injuries incurred have been suffered as a result of a pothole of this kind you could be entitled to make a claim.<\/p>\n

Section 58<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is worth noting at this point that claims occurring in more rural areas can be more difficult to pursue. A rural area is likely to be inspected much less frequently than busy main roads for example in cities and this is regarded as “reasonable<\/em><\/strong>” – because of this an authority may be able to defend a claim. It can prove to be an uphill struggle<\/em> to make a successful claim where the accident has happened in a rural area.<\/p>\n

Reasonability in relation to how well a road is maintained, will be determined by: <\/p>\n