Wake up Maggie..

[SueEllen]

It is certainly the case that you can 'sue' the council if you can prove the pot hole caused the damage, and it has been done plenty of times. Obvs not something the council broadcast too loudly. I've used fixmystreet when they put 20mph signs in 'for safety reasons' whilst the road surface was breaking up causing a braking hazard. We have a primary school at the end of the road. Their biggest fear is if you have put a fixmystreet marker in ANY claims that then come in have to be addressed as they did not fix the issue when told about it.

What!?! Was that https://www.fixmystreet.com/ ?

[NigelJK]

yep, it's not just for pot holes
What used to happen was it sent am email to the relevant authority dept when you logged something. Does that still happen?

[hobnob]

Unfortunately the council guy may have a point there, if it's the same legal principle that if you clear snow from the pavement outside your house and someone slips on the cleared area then they can sue you, whereas they can't if you had just left the snow untouched and they slipped on that!

Nope, that's a myth.

"You can clear snow and ice from pavements yourself. It’s unlikely that you’ll be sued or held responsible if someone is injured on a path or pavement if you’ve cleared it carefully."
Clear snow from a road, path or cycleway - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

"Furthermore, in the very unlikely case where the intervention does make the situation more risky, it is not enough to show that the passer-by fell over. The passer-by would have to show that he would not have fallen over anyway, or would not have injured himself just as badly in some other way – something that is very hard to do. [..] There is no need for a change in the law. What we need instead is a change in the quality of the people who write and edit newspapers."
Twitpic (letter from David Howarth MP to a constituent in 2010)

[d000hg]

You can sue anybody for anything. Not the same as saying you'll win.

[OwlHoot]

Nope, that's a myth.

"You can clear snow and ice from pavements yourself. It’s unlikely that you’ll be sued or held responsible if someone is injured on a path or pavement if you’ve cleared it carefully."
Clear snow from a road, path or cycleway - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

"Furthermore, in the very unlikely case where the intervention does make the situation more risky, it is not enough to show that the passer-by fell over. The passer-by would have to show that he would not have fallen over anyway, or would not have injured himself just as badly in some other way – something that is very hard to do. [..] There is no need for a change in the law. What we need instead is a change in the quality of the people who write and edit newspapers."
Twitpic (letter from David Howarth MP to a constituent in 2010)

Unlikely isn't the same as impossible!