The Law:
| Section 58 of The Highways Act 1980 Special defence in action against a highway authority for damages for non-repair of highway. E+W (1)In an action against a highway authority in respect of damage resulting from their failure to maintain a highway maintainable at the public expense it is a defence ….. to prove that the authority had taken such care as in all the circumstances was reasonably required to secure that the part of the highway to which the action relates was not dangerous |
The Proof: The “care” referred to above is generally proved by the Council by reference to their Highway Inspections records, frequency of inspections, complaints records and repair orders. Once they provide evidence that they have inspected an area within, say, 6 months prior to an accident, at which the defect was not noted, they have a defence. So, if a paving slab has broken or become loose and you fall and sustain injuries as a result, if the Council can show that they “inspected” that street previously and did not note the defect, then you have no claim.
Or do you? The Resolution: In several cases, Janine Griffiths of Martyn Prowel Solicitors has successfully won compensation for clients who have been told by the Council, and in some cases by their own Solicitors, that they have no claim. Janine says: “Councils are very quick to raise a Section 58 Defence, stating that they have carried out inspections and that the defect didn’t exist at that time, and so they have taken reasonable steps to ensure the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, drivers etc. However, in a lot of cases, we have been able to establish that the Council have not, in fact, adhered to their inspection regime, that the “inspection” carried out was deficient and that, in some cases, the defect was clearly in existence at the time of the last purported inspection, but that either no repair order was raised, or the repairs not carried out within a reasonable period.”
“I would strongly urge anyone who has had such an accident but has been told that the Council have a statutory defence, to contact us to obtain a second opinion”.
Related Articles: https://www.mpgsolicitors.co.uk//category/compensation/
Comments are closed.