Highway & Occupier Liability Claims

Potholes and defects form because asphalt road surfaces eventually crack under the heat of the day and the constant stresses of traffic. These cracks allow snow and rainwater to seep into the underlying dirt and gravel. During cold nights, the water freezes and expands, pushing out some of the dirt and gravel, leaving a hole when the water eventually melts.

Drivers continue to drive over these unseen holes, putting even more stress on the thin asphalt layer covering them.

As we start to come out of Winter and into Spring, you may notice more of these potholes and defects appearing on roads or in car parks, which can cause damage to vehicles and worse, personal injury. If you notice a dangerous pothole or defect you should report it to your local authority or the owner of the premises where the hazard is.

Highway claims

The Highways Act 1980 imposes a duty on Local Authorities to maintain the highway in such a state of repair that it is reasonably passable for the ordinary traffic of the locality. However, this is not a guarantee that the highway will be safe.

Section 58 of the Act provides a defence if the highway authority can prove that it took such care as in all the circumstances was reasonably required to ensure that the part of the highway in question was not dangerous.

If a highway authority can prove that it had a reasonable system of inspection in place which it had adhered to and at the date of the last inspection the defect was either not there or not dangerous, then it will have a defence to any claim for personal injury. Claims against the Council are notoriously difficult to win and always vigorously defended.

Occupier claims

The Occupiers Liability Act 1957 imposes on an occupier of premises, a duty of care to all visitors, to ensure that the visitor will be reasonably safe in using the premises for the purposes for which they are invited or permitted to be there.

If an occupier of premises can prove that it had a reasonable system of maintenance and inspection in place and at the date of the last inspection the premises were reasonably safe then it too will have a defence to a claim.

Therefore, if you have suffered personal injury because of a defect, it is vital that you take photographs of the actual defect which caused the injury, that you measure the depth of the defect accurately and take photographs and that you take the details of any witnesses to the accident. In the case of highway claims, you will also need evidence from witnesses who live or work in the locality as to how long the actual defect had been there.