[Closed] Pot hole accident - making a claim?

I think that it has to have been previously reported to get a successful claim. That however is for claims on wheels and tyres etc I do not know if a personal injury gives it a different slant.

We did with the car - the standard thing is that it needs to have been reported to the council (which I don't thiink ours was), but we made a claim for damage to the car for (like you) a submerged pot hole, which I think we won because they have a duty to inspect and repair flooded roads, which they clearly hadn't done. Not easy to win, but do it, and good luck.

Thanks. The family in the nearby house came out when I fell off and said they’d previously reported it to the council. Do I have to prove it was previously reported? Can the council simply deny it if I can’t prove that?

I would get the family details and get pictures of hole before it has been filled in (now) then speak to british cycling (lawyers that deal with this sort of thing) good luck

FOI REQUEST ITS FREE, ALSO MANY ACCIDENT CLAIMS SOLITORS ON LINE.

https://www.cycleaidsolicitors.co.uk/what-to-do-after-cycling-accident.html

Thanks falkirk-mark. We’ve got photos of how it looked when it was submerged, from when I fell off, and mr pea went back yesterday to photograph it half empty (it’s not rained much this week), with a tape measure showing the depth. Also got the family’s name and phone number.

Wot no "your fault for riding into a puddle" comments? 😂

Nasty. The trouble with mountain biking is that we ride through puddles without thinking as there is rarely a problem. So we tend to do the same on the road.
I've finally managed to shake the habit. It took a tumble before I did though. Get well soon. An A-C separation can be painful and keep you restricted for a while.

I think that it has to have been previously reported to get a successful claim. That however is for claims on wheels and tyres etc I do not know if a personal injury gives it a different slant.

Liability is liability - the council may not want to deal with it via whatever their 'standard process' for pothole claims is, though.

Thanks. The family in the nearby house came out when I fell off and said they’d previously reported it to the council. Do I have to prove it was previously reported? Can the council simply deny it if I can’t prove that?

They can deny it, you can take the evidence provided by this family to court if necessary, and let a judge decide who is telling the truth. The council may try to fob you off, but their process is only a way of stopping claims get to court, which would cost them more.

Sounds like you have a reasonable case, but get some proper legal advice - your home insurance may include some. And document all your losses.

cynic-al
Full Member
Wot no “your fault for riding into a puddle” comments? 😂

We're aw thinking it though. 😆

Do I have to prove it was previously reported? 

Your local council will *probably* have a website that you can check on - if not, there are other websites, like...

https://www.fillthathole.org.uk

I wouldn't expect that they'd deny it if it HAS been reported (too easy to check) but even if it hasn't, have a look and see if they have any stated obligations to check flooded roads. If there's a massive, submerged pothole, I would imagine it's very unlikely to have just appeared since they're last supposed to have checked it.

If you're a member of Cycling UK they have an incident advice line. I hope you heal well and quickly.

@cynic-al and @seosamh77

Yeah it’s hilarious having an AC joint separation isn’t it? Thanks for the pissy little comments about me riding through a puddle. I assume you’re fairweather cyclists who don’t ride when it’s cold and raining, and there are unavoidable puddles everywhere?
Ay, stay on the sofa!

Sorry Vickypea, my joke wasn't aimed at you, but at the try hards who would often post a comment like that; and indeed did when I posted up a similar thread.

I think the council kiboshed my claim by saying that the path in question had been inspected within the last year and this seemed to be a legit defence.

Good luck.

I think the council kiboshed my claim by saying that the path in question had been inspected within the last year and this seemed to be a legit defence

I had this when I was forced to hit a pothole and ruined two {car} wheels and tyres which cost about £3k to replace.
I lost.

This just shows that care needs to be taken when going through puddles - I ride more towards the centre of the lane where there are far fewer puddles/holes.

Having separated an AC I would recommend getting some physio as soon as you can. Saved me lots of recovery time. Fracture clinic gave very different advice which was BS tbh. FYI. Did mine in a far less glamorous way, had a few too many, tripped over uneven ground with hands in pockets😔

"I think the council kiboshed my claim by saying that the path in question had been inspected within the last year and this seemed to be a legit defence."

Within the last year? I find it hard to believe that anyone could claim "inspected within the last year" is a legitimate defence.
Up my road they respond to pothole complaints usually within the month. Check Fixmystreet.com for whether this pothole has been reported.

I would think that (a) check annually and (b) respond to alerts would jointly be adequate defence if true. In this case, (b) seems to be false. How often do you think councils should check every metre of road for defects?

You should report it and give the council a chance to deal with the situation. In reporting it not only are you formerly alerting them to the presence of a dangerous pothole that needs repairing (they'll never repair it until it gets reported) and they'll never have any statistics or costs to attribute to the cost of not repairing potholes in a timely manner.

As to how quickly and efficiently they will deal with your case, well I wouldn't hold your breath. I know a few people who have claimed for damage to alloy wheels and they have always got compensated but it has been a challenge, they try to fob you off, drag their heals, off you low compensation that doesn't cover the cost of a new wheel and tyre or the cost of repair so you might need to refuse their first offers until you arrive at an acceptable figure. then of course there is the cost of any injruy caused to you. If people can get compensation for tripping up over a kerb then you should be successful in this case.

Oh and go and get a few photo's of the pothole with some stuff in shot to give scale to the size and depth.

The council refused to pay on a pothole that did 2 tyres and wheels, after heavy rain wahed out a repaired pothole around a drain. It was 14 cm deep had I been on a road bike load knows what would happen it was on a very busy road.

I'm now known as captain complaint by the in laws as I now report everything to the council that needs addressing, potholes, over grown busheson the edge of road, poor lighting, road markings.

We pay for their services if they are not compensating for their mistakes hiding behind their procedure ie it was checked last year lets make sure they are fully aware of where the damage or potential dangers to other road users are.

They all have websites it generally only takes a minute to report once they are aware of the issues they do get them fixed.

There is a process you have to go through - I did it to (successfully) claim for a car tyre a few years back.
All the history of reports against the potholes are available online. The process can be a bit long-winded, but definitely worth it. The council won't do any denying - they just assign the case to their insurance lawyers and let them deal with it.
I'll try to find the details, as it looks like no-one's posted that as yet.

I think this is the process I used - https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/pothole-claims/#fullclaim

(Obviously that's based on claiming for car damage, but the process will be the same for personal injury. Just a much larger payout, I would hope.)