Highway Claims
Highway claims are on the rise as highway authorities are under a duty to maintain the highway pursuant to section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. This includes a duty to ensure safe passage is not endangered by snow and ice.
Where the highway authority fails to maintain the road they are liable for any personal injury caused by this failure. The duty is not absolute and it is a defence under section 58 of the Act to show that they had taken such care as was, in all the circumstances, reasonable.
The definition of a highway is a way over which every member of the general public has a right of passage without hindrance. Highways therefore include footpaths, public paths, cycleways, bridleways and driftways. The duty is not just limited to the path or track and may extend to either side if they are defined by, for example, a fence. This means that bridges and tunnels are also included.
The highway authority can be the Department for Transport or the local county, district, parish or community council. Their duty is to put the highway in such repair as to enable ordinary traffic to pass over it without danger. To bring a claim you must therefore show that the part of the highway where your accident occurred was dangerous, the danger arose through a failure to maintain and that this caused your accident. The most common complaint of this in recent times is potholes.
There is no absolute definition of what is dangerous. However, there is a general rule of thumb that a defect greater than 1 inch is considered dangerous. Overall the whole of the condition of the highway is relevant. If it is a country path the standard expected would be completely different to a busy motorway.
Highway authorities operate a system of regular inspections based upon the character and type of traffic to be expected on any particular highway. They may also operate different levels of survey, ranging from a simple safety survey thorough a detailed survey to a condition survey.
As part of their overall responsibilities the highway authority has to monitor accidents on the highway. Where you have had an accident you can request information on any other accidents that have been reported at the same place. As well as reporting any accident you can also make use of the CTC website to report general defects in the road. The same website can be checked for other reports before even intimating a claim to the highway authority.
It is important that you appreciate the distinction between maintaining the highway and causing an obstruction. If someone deliberately places something on the highway and it causes an accident then this is a different type of case and the statutory defence does not apply. Examples would be roadworks which were not properly signposted or accidents caused by oil absorbing granules thrown on the road surface after a previous accident.
We are here to help 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Either e-mail us anytime, call (01296) 662770 (Nick) or (01525) 373322 (Richard) during the normal working day or (07973) 424178 in an emergency.
