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pot hole.jpgInjured cyclist plans to sue council over potholes
A Derbyshire cyclist who was left with concussion, a broken elbow and a fractured cheekbone after falling from his bike when he hit a pothole is planning to take legal action against the council. Chris Clay, who cycled over the large pothole while in Dalbury Lees, could not drive for two months and was also unable to work for a period.
The Derby Telegraph reports that Clay is working with solicitors Slater and Gordon in a bid to claim compensation from Derbyshire County Council.
"I was cycling and, then all of a sudden, I went flying. The friend I was with had to call an ambulance and I was taken to hospital. It knocked me out for a while and I had no idea what was going on. I was in great pain and knew this was more than just minor injuries."
Clay says that he reported the pothole to the council, but no action was taken and so he subsequently contacted the law firm.
"There are potholes all over the place. Something needs to be done about it. This is a big problem in the county and the city and I know it's something which really irritates people.
"I class myself as being lucky. Although what I've suffered was bad, I know it could have been worse. Potholes are dangerous. This proves that. I would hate to see somebody go through the same thing or worse."
CTC, the national cycling charity, recently said that delays in fixing potholes are a contributory factor in increasing numbers of cyclists being killed or seriously injured on British roads.
CTC's FillThatHole.org.uk website allows cyclists to log problem roads and is then updated when councils or cyclists report that a defect has been fixed. In some areas, only three per cent of damaged roads reported by CTC were said to have been repaired. The organisation says that 17 councils fixed only 1 in 10 problem roads while the majority (168) repaired less than half.
Peter Box, Transport Spokesman for the Local Government Association, said that while councils fixed more potholes than ever before last year, current funding levels mean they are only able to carry out patching and filling rather than more cost-effective long-term improvements.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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24 comments
Went through a pothole in 1992 hidden by tree shadows. Bust shoulder and £3k compensation for permanent injury from Camden Council. Would I have rather not had the bust shoulder and seen the money spent on fixing potholes? Yep. Did the £3k compensation to me improve Camden's approach to fixing potholes? Nope.
If you wrecked the wheel of your car from a pothole you'd try and sue the council too. I don't see any issue with his claim. He may have been fairly close to car that swerved to avoid it, maybe it was on a bend and wouldn't have seen it until it was too late. How many other people have complained about that same pothole? How many drivers have damaged their cars by hitting it?
I've heard potholes are a plot by Shimano UK to turn castelli lingerie clad 8 stone bez roadies in to proper cyclists, disc brakes and all. Welcome to the 21st Century ladies.
Top tip.....get a can of temporary white road paint (eBay) and spray straight lines around the hole. This way its easier to notice for yourself and others and possibly get filled the next time the pothole fillers are in the area.
Having seen the speed at which some of the patch repairs have deteriorated (one to a worse state than before in under a fortnight) it really does need to become a policy of proper repairs to the affected road, if more people started claiming for damage caused then it's likely that councils will start taking the longer term view (maybe)
Time for the return of Wanksy.
sadly the council will only listen to the accountants.
my commute is bloody shocking, I've taken to reporting the bigger holes and leaving small step ladders in the really big ones.
It's not just cyclists being put in danger by potholes... motorcyclists are also at great risk. A guy came off his motorbike on the A38 a couple of months ago and he was saved only by the prompt attention of motorists who stopped for him after seeing his bike smashed up on the verge... this was on a straight section of dual carriageway and I know from personal experience driving there every few days that it's riddled with potholes with some right in the middle of the lanes...
Tbf, he says he was just riding along and all of sudden went flying, which suggests he wasn't really looking our for potholes. Of course, the real issue is that the potholes shouldn't be there in the first place.
The last paragraph of the article is frustrating, if long term improvements are more cost effective over the long term, give councils the budget to make those improvements. Sure it will cost more at first, but its an investment and it will be beneficial for us all (as long as it's not that glue and gravel treatment!) because we will have nice Road surfaces which don't have holes that need patching constantly, compared to patchwork roads which every Road user bounces over.
No it doesn't. It just suggests that he didn't see the particular pothole that he hit.
why is it always some one else fault?. has he eyes?
Maybe it was raining. Maybe he was unable to avoid it?
Which one of the responses in the article is yours?
You've clearly never cycled over roads with pot holes whilst trying to be vigilant for impatient motor vehicles.
When we're paying taxes which are supposed to cover keeping the roads in good repair, it's not unreasonable to expect the roads to be in good repair.
Go read the article properly. Hes not taking legal action because of the accident he had, hes taking legal action because after reporting the pothole they did SFA about repairing it. IIRC after a road fault is reported they are duty bound to repair it within a reasonable time, else they leave themselves wide open to further claims for compensation due to damage or accidents.
Or they spray paint thin white lines around it so it becomes the road users fault and they dodge responsibility.
Surely he would have to then have a further accident to warrant a compensation claim, under that principle?
The article suggests the sequence of events was: Accident > reporting to council > nothing got done > Take legal action
I'm not saying he shouldn't sue the council anyway, I just wasn't clear on the conditions that allow you to claim against them?
Can you tell me if you commute by bike, and if so where?
Some of the roads I have to ride on my commute are ridiculously bad. Combined with traffic queues make it pretty dangerous at times.
And yes, I have reported a lot of them using Buckinghamshire's awesome online reporting facility.
Luckily the worst they have caused me to date was a broken spoke and buckled wheel. I did claim against the council, but I must admit to not being arsed to fill in the ream of paperwork that I was sent me to complete.
mylesrants wrote:
why is it always some one else fault?. has he eyes?
Agree 100%. We all know that UK roads are full of potholes. They are just another road hazard like drain covers and hedge clippings that one should avoid. Yes, potholes should not be there, but they are so deal with it. Observe the road ahead, slow down if necessary, etc.
Does nobody have any sense of personal responsibility? If you hit a pothole, it is your fault apart from in exceptional circumstances like swerving to avoid something else.
On the one hand cyclists are compelled to wear high-visibility clothing, lights and reflectors in order to stop ourselves being twatted by a motorist. Because, despite being a 6-foot lump of meat and metal, if we get squashed by a texting lorry driver the first thing that'll mitigate his sentence from "dangerous driving" to "driving without due care and attention" is simply saying "I couldn't see him".
But of course, if a cyclist hits a 6 inch pothole, that is the same colour as the road then it's completely the cyclist's fault and they should be more careful.
Perhaps the potholes that you encounter are different to the ones that I come across but aren't potholes nearly always a different colour to the rest of the road? They're usually darker due to being full of water, dirt, different road material, etc?
If you can't use your eyes to spot a pothole ahead on the road, then your eyesight must be very poor. Go to the opticians, only ride on billiard smooth roads.
As for wearing bright clothing, why would you not want to increase your chances, even if only by 5%, of not being hurt? Surely sartorial preferences should be outweighed by the desire to not get hit by a vehicle?
not to mention, they may be obscured by puddles. although not it seems in this particular instance, no mention of wet weather in the report.
Nobody I know runs over pot holes intentionally. I've been riding over 40 years as cycling enthusiast and I've lost count how many times I've been caught out with the damn things. Fortunately never been thrown from the bike but have suffered minor wheel damage.
All it takes is a thorough shoulder check at the wrong moment and the pothole is upon you. That's just one example. There are loads more. I'm sure the OP has avoided hundreds of potholes over his cycling life just like you.
Telling him to deal with it and saying it's his own fault is insulting and daft. The roads authority have a duty of care and if they fail in that then anyone has a right to recourse.
Drain covers and clippings as you mention it are a lot less likely to unsaddle a rider than a nasty pothole is unless you're leant over at 50 degrees in the wet and on a tight corner. Pot holes are road defects that are not meant to be there. Drain covers and clippings are not.
Your response and the one you agree with just doesn't make sense. I can just imagine you telling your nearest and dearest crippled from a pot hole caused cycling fall because they failed to spot it in time, "it's your own stupid fault you twat, deal with it." Not.