Pot hole damage and buckled wheel. Pics inside.

[SmartMAC]

Not a happy cahp at the moment. I did this on way back from work yesterday and I am sure it is going to cost me loads of money.
Do I have a case to put a claim against the council?
If so, do I have to get it repaired before I do?

I managed to talk to the house owner near the pot hole who told me they have told the council about it. He also said, he would be happy to put it in writing if I needed the extra help.

I have taken a few pictures of the pot hole and the damaged wheel. Its a national speed limit road if that helps.

Pot hole:

Wheel:

 

[developer]

I feel your pain as I have a claim going through at the moment.

Some general info here:

Potholes.co.uk - Home Page

 

[SmartMAC]

I guess you have repaired it and then put a claim?

Just checked and it is £500 for a genuine wheel itself on-line.

 

[developer]

I started the claim process the next day (reported and requested their claim form) but had to buy a wheel/tyre to continue to drive the car.

The receipt for the new wheel/tyre formed part of the claim paperwork.

 

[SmartMAC]

Great, thank. I think I will do the same. I just need to find out which council I need to put the claim to

 

[zipdip]

Pot holes are a big problem,my major way out to the world means I use the A120 which runs from the International Port of Harwich so it is used by lots of trucks single lane A road,as a local I know where most of the big ones are,but at night it is a lottery,you seem to spend as much time now watching the road in front of you as watching traffic and situations this cannot be good for accident figures.

 

[wongl]

I feel your pain as I have a claim going through at the moment.

Some general info here:

Potholes.co.uk - Home Page

Does anyone knows when making a claim from the council if one needs to inform one's insurance company?

The last time I made a claim for a bent wheel was a good few years ago when we were living in Chicago. Over there claims made for a "road hazard" doesn't effect one's good driver discount (their equivalent of our NCB in the UK). So no need to go through the trouble of claiming from a third party.

 

[developer]

Does anyone knows when making a claim from the council if one needs to inform one's insurance company?

I haven't told my insurance company and it's not mentioned in the guides I've read.

 

[flango]

No point in making a claim on the council. This is what SWMBO does everyday rejects these type of claims unless they were a contributory cause to an injury related accident.

Local authority guidelines were changed a few years ago and whilst the local council are responsible for the roads they are not responsible for any damage caused whilst using them unless they can be proved negligent (difficult with maintenance systems in place) or injury occurs as a result.

It was challenged in court but the changed guidelines were upheld based on the belief a driver paying attention to the road should never drive in a pot hole as they can be avoided and a council cannot be expected to deal with every pothole immediately and as long as the council has a system of dealing with potholes claims will fail.

SWMBO sees lots of these and none succeed

Just saying.

 

[st13phil]

It was challenged in court but the changed guidelines were upheld based on the belief a driver paying attention to the road should never drive in a pot hole as they can be avoided and a council cannot be expected to deal with every pothole immediately and as long as the council has a system of dealing with potholes claims will fail.

SWMBO sees lots of these and none succeed.

While I agree that it's necessary to establish negligence on behalf of the maintaining authority, to say that no claims succeed is pure BS. Negligence on behalf of the responsible authority is disturbingly commonplace. The difficulty the injured party has is proving it.

 

[flango]

While I agree that it's necessary to establish negligence on behalf of the maintaining authority, to say that no claims succeed is pure BS. Negligence on behalf of the responsible authority is disturbingly commonplace. The difficulty the injured party has is proving it.

SWMBO has rejected everyone in the last 2 years that equals none so not BS.

Your last point is totally correct, try and prove it, it's virtually impossible.

Why do people expect others to pay for their own stupidity of driving in a pot hole in the first place? Look where you are going and avoid the situation in the first place maybe?

 

[st13phil]

Your other half obviously works for an LA that is on the ball. Many LA's aren't.

The root of the problem is that insufficient funds are allocated to the maintenance of the road network in this country. All the arguments about liability are a sideshow.

 

[flango]

Your other half obviously works for an LA that is on the ball. Many LA's aren't.

The root of the problem is that insufficient funds are allocated to the maintenance of the road network in this country. All the arguments about liability are a sideshow.

Totally agree with you on the funding when I see where the money goes it makes my blood boil. I'm a firm believer in addressing root causes which in this case means proper resurfacing not bodged repairs. Most LA are the same ignore the roads spend elsewhere then when the problem has got out of control try and address it with insufficient funds. The way the money flows between central government and LA also needs addressing IMHO

 

[st13phil]

Why do people expect others to pay for their own stupidity of driving in a pot hole in the first place? Look where you are going and avoid the situation in the first place maybe?

I'll willingly take you for a drive on some of north Oxfordshire's unlit roads on a dark, wet, night and you can educate me in assessing which puddles conceal a pothole. I'm always willing to learn

And on a related matter, how many windscreens are broken and how much bodywork is damaged by stones and other debris that has come out of the potholes and been thrown up by other vehicles?

Due to the systemic underfunding of road maintenance, the unavoidable conclusion is that LA's and others responsible for that road maintenance deploy the barest minimum procedures so that they can (legally speaking) shrug their shoulders and say "not me, guv" when it all goes wrong. It's a national disgrace.

 

[developer]

No point in making a claim on the council. This is what SWMBO does everyday rejects these type of claims unless they were a contributory cause to an injury related accident.

Local authority guidelines were changed a few years ago and whilst the local council are responsible for the roads they are not responsible for any damage caused whilst using them unless they can be proved negligent (difficult with maintenance systems in place) or injury occurs as a result.

It was challenged in court but the changed guidelines were upheld based on the belief a driver paying attention to the road should never drive in a pot hole as they can be avoided and a council cannot be expected to deal with every pothole immediately and as long as the council has a system of dealing with potholes claims will fail.

SWMBO sees lots of these and none succeed

Just saying.

According to our local news programme, Birmingham City Council paid out £2.5m in pothole related claims last year, so cleary they aren't all being rejected round here.

Regarding a driver paying attention never driving over a pothole - what rot - mine was at night, on a dark road and it was filled with water. I'm good, but I'm not Derek Acorah's love child.

Even during the day, travelling a sensible distance behind the car in front rarely leaves you time to react/avoid a pothole you're suddenly presented with .

 

[SmartMAC]

Just dropped the damaged wheel to MB Bolton for a replacement. They matched the alloywheelsdirect web price for the wheel and will replace the tyre if it is damaged.
I have all the claim documentation ready for Bolton Council with pics and maps included. I am not holding my breath I will get anything but I hope I do.
I believe they are still paying compensation but I might be wrong.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

According to our local news programme, Birmingham City Council paid out £2.5m in pothole related claims last year, so cleary they aren't all being rejected round here.

Regarding a driver paying attention never driving over a pothole - what rot - mine was at night, on a dark road and it was filled with water. I'm good, but I'm not Derek Acorah's love child.

Even during the day, travelling a sensible distance behind the car in front rarely leaves you time to react/avoid a pothole you're suddenly presented with .

How does paying for your own stupidity feel John?

 

[TKvS]

How does paying for your own stupidity feel John?

In what would way is he stupid and what qualifies you to to make that ****umption ?

 

[developer]

Steady on fella's, you're posing some difficult questions there

 

[Sanjeev1]

I am also going through the claim process with Manchester Council for damage caused to my tyre due to a large defect in the Road. They have just asked me to submit receipts for any repairs/ cost of new tyre, which seems hopefull, but they have stated that they will not pay the receipted cost of the tyre, as they will deduct a percentage, due to the tyres pre accident condition! Hmmmm.....