Last updated on April 16th, 2024 at 01:05 pm

Tracey Dickinson

The client was walking along High Street in Canvey Island, Essex. She did not see the pothole, which was 4.5cm deep, and lost her footing.  A man who was passing helped the client up and pointed out the pothole, suggesting the client take photographs of it.

The woman injured her knee and her hand.  She cared for herself at home, but after over two months, her knee was still painful and she visited her GP, who prescribed anti inflammatories and physiotherapy.  After around six months, she had an MRI scan, which was recommended by a consultant orthopaedic surgeon.  This showed that the accident had triggered and aggravated existing degenerative changes.

The woman contacted Graysons to see if she could claim compensation from Essex County Council, which was responsible for maintenance of the pavements. Tracey took up the claim and contacted the council, saying that it had been negligent and breached its statutory duty under the Highway Act 1980 and that it had not taken any action to repair the pothole or to warn pedestrians about its existence.

The council denied liability for the accident, saying that it was caused by the woman’s own negligence.  The council said that the pothole was not actionable and did not require repair, despite a council report about 12 months earlier, which identified the defect as ‘footway cracked, eroded, heaved, sunk, breaking up and uneven, causing pothole’ and noting ‘action required’.

The case went to court and the judge found in Tracey’s client’s favour, saying that the pothole was dangerous at 45mm – having regard to the council’s own policy which indicated that a 20mm deep defect required investigation.

Tracey won just over £3,000 in compensation for her client, who was delighted.

If you have an accident in a street or other public place, and you think that someone else is to blame, contact our personal injury experts who will carry out an interview with you, free of charge, in which they can assess your case.  If we can take on your case, we will offer you a no-win, no-fee arrangement. You can find out more about making a personal injury claim on our web pages.

Author: Tracey Dickinson