The straight forward answer is yes but they are not the easiest of claims – the council is under a duty to take all “reasonable steps” to ensure the area is safe. Therefore, if they have good inspection regimes in place this can make your claim incredibly difficult. It is simply unrealistic and probably not that fair to expect the council to be able to keep an eye on every bit of pavement or road for when a pothole appears- especially with the in-climate weather we are experiencing at the moment!
Another key aspect of pothole claims is that the defect has to be a “foreseeable risk” – therefore one of the key bits of evidence and one of the most important things that a personal injury solicitor will request from you is photographs and measurements of the defect!
We understand that after you have suffered a fall taking photographs is probably not the first thing on your mind- however it is important that you do it as it will help making a claim a lot! With regards to the measurements there are certain guidelines to ensure you give your case the best chance of success!
- Measurements have to be shown by something such as a measuring tape or ruler- it is not enough to use a piece of paper, a part of your body and although thought to be true by many- a 50p coin!
- The photographs need to be clear- the court doesn’t take too kindly to fuzzy images!
- When measuring the defect it is important to measure the depth and width- taking photographs up close and from a distance.
- Finally- take a picture of the defect from afar- this shows where it is in relation to the area. This is for the purposes of the council investigations- if they can’t find it easily it is probable that they will prolong investigating it!
Getting these photographs can be extremely important especially if the defect is since repaired- no photographs mean no evidence that the defect ever existed! Therefore if you cannot get them personally it is important to see if anyone else can.
If you have had a pothole accident, do not hesitate to contact us. As mentioned above they can be difficult claims and therefore it is important you have the best representation possible! If you have the photographs it is likely that we will ask for these first to evaluate the claim and therefore having them to hand is going to ensure your claim gets started as soon as possible.
(P.S -If you have any queries regarding the above instructions feel free to contact us! Measuring can be confusing at times! )