Potholes, those seemingly innocuous craters in the road, pose a significant threat to road users worldwide. While they may seem like minor inconveniences, potholes can lead to serious personal injury accidents. According to the AA, 2024 looks set to be the worst year on record for pothole-related incidents as they reported having responded to over half a million callouts linked to them since the start of the year.
No road user is immune to potholes though. Cycling UK report that one cyclist is either killed or seriously injured every week due to pothole related incidents.
Having supported many drivers and cyclists who have suffered serious and even life changing injuries following a pothole encounter, there are a few things worth bearing in mind doing if you find yourself in this situation.
After seeking medical advice and only if safe to do so, it is important to take photographs of the pothole that caused your accident. Likewise, it is important to report the pothole to the relevant highway authority. That will hopefully mean that it can be fixed quickly and before being the cause of more injuries. A simple way to report it is visiting the website – www.fillthathole.org.uk
If you are considering making a compensation claim it will be useful to take the details of anyone that witnessed your accident as well as to speak to anyone that can verify if that pothole had been previously reported to the local authority and not been fixed. Local businesses or people living nearby may be able to assist with this.
Local authorities are expected to carry out regular and thorough inspections and repair potholes within a reasonable amount of time. If the guidelines for maintaining road and cycle paths and fixing potholes have not been followed, it may be possible to bring a personal injury claim against the local authority for your injuries. Any claim will be strengthened if you can prove that they were aware of the pothole, whether that be by previous complaints or their own inspections and had not fixed it. If you hit a pothole on a private road, you may be able to claim on the road owner’s public liability insurance but these claims can often be more difficult.
The success of any claim will depend on location, the size of the pothole and how long it has been present. That is why it is important to have good, measured photographs.
How can we help?
A personal injury claim can help you cover the costs of any additional needs you have developed because of the injury you suffered. For example, a serious pothole cycling accident can result into you being unable to go to work for a period of time, especially if your profession involves physical activity. Likewise, it may result in you needing help with doing everyday tasks around the house or supporting your dependants.
Covering the cost of getting this help and putting things in place to support you with your recovery are all things that can be covered through a claim. When looking at the costs associated with your injury, we always try to recover funds you may have already spent to support your recovery and meet the needs the incident created.
To have a free, confidential chat with a member of our team, call us today on 0800 044 8488 or fill in our contact form below so we can give you a call back at a time convenient to you.
