Tripped on a pavement or in a pothole?
November 23, 2018

If you’ve tripped on a paving slab that’s sticking up or rocking or lost your footing in a pothole or on a broken kerb, you may have a claim for compensation.

Our personal injury solicitors can help you make a claim to the local highway authority.

Highway authorities can escape liability if they can show that the defect wasn’t dangerous – this usually means we have to show that the slab was sticking up more than an inch or the pothole was deeper than an inch. If it’s on a busy shopping street or outside a hospital or an old people’s home, it is more likely to be considered dangerous than if it’s out on a rural footpath that isn’t often used.

If we can show that it was dangerous, the highway authority can still successfully defend the claim if they can show that they had a reasonable system of inspection and that it wasn’t that bad when they last looked.

Again, if it’s a busy street, it should be inspected much more often and repaired much more quickly than a rarely used side street or country lane.

These cases aren’t easy but our personal injury solicitors will be able to explain if they think you are likely to win, and they can do what’s necessary to give you the best chance. If we don’t think you’re going to win, we will tell you.

You can help by taking photos and measurements. Preferably put a ruler (or at least a matchbox or a 50p piece) up against the paving slab or in the pothole up against the edge so that we can see how deep it is when you take the photos. And some photos of the general area so we can see how busy it is or whether it’s a rural or rarely used road or pavement.

Make sure you contact our personal injury solicitors as early as possible so that we have the best chance of making your claim a successful one.