At one time or another we have all complained about the poor state of our roads and pavements. This is usually caused by our inclimate weather that washes the surface away or freezes in cracks and expands, breaking the ground around it.
Most of the complaints come from people who have either had damage caused to their car by potholes on the road, or by people who were innocently walking on the pavement (as you should) who have then found themselves on the floor wondering what has happened. It is the latter situation that I shall discuss in this blog.
Broken kerbs can be incredibly dangerous as it can mean that when an accident occurs you can find yourself on a busy road, and possibly in the path of moving vehicles. So who is responsible for keeping the pavements safe?
It is usually either the local council or the local highways authority that have the duty to maintain and repair public areas to ensure drivers and pedestrian safety.
However, it is not as straight forward to claim from them as you might think.
Whoever has the responsibility for the area has the duty to “take reasonable steps” under the Highways Act to ensure the area is maintained. Unfortunately, there is not a definition of “reasonable” and the courts have often refused to put some sort of “description” or tariff on what constitutes taking reasonable steps. In practice this means that if the council/highway authority can show that they have taken reasonable steps such as a good maintenance and inspection regimes where they inspect the area every 6 months it could be considered that they have done all they could reasonably be expected to do so.
Please note that the above is just an example and therefore should not be relied upon in every case. Factors such as the main purpose of the area can affect what is considered reasonable. A pathway in the city centre for example will require more repair (because of the footfall) than a random country path in the countryside.
When contemplating whether to make a claim after having an accident on a broken kerb there are a few things to consider.
- Photographs – these can be vital. Without photographs there is no proof that the defect was there!
- Measurements – these can also be vital to sure whether the defect is a risk of injury.
- Witnesses – if when you have your accident there are people around, try and gather their details.
So if you have suffered injury because of a broken kerb, contact us today to discuss your options further.
