Over the bars - bicycle accidents caused by potholes

I was on bikeradar.com today and made a response to this thread and

thought I would share with you the information I was able to give the

poster.

After explaning that I am a cyclist but also a solicitor spcialising in

cycling claims I advised that I have came across this type of situation

many times before.

The short answer to the poster's question is, yes, potentially he may have

a valid claim.

There are a number of factors to consider in whether any claim such as

this would succeed.  Firstly, it muct be establish that a pothole was

"dangerous" in a legal sense and as such is a pothole that a local

authority should repair.  Typically the "intervention level" on public

highways is considered to be in the region of about 40 millimetres.

Therefore a pothole one metre wide and five inches deep would, in my

experience, be considered "dangerous".

A local authority can have a defence to a claim however if they can

establish that they had in place a "reasonable system of inspection and

repair".  The reasoning behind this is that no local authority can inspect

all of their roads constantly.  If they can prove that they are

periodically inspecting the roads and repairing "dangerous" defects as and

when required then they may have a full defence to any claim.

Another user correctly highlights that the frequency of inspections is

dependent upon how busy a road is deemed to be.  As the poster described

the road as a quiet country road I would say it is likely that the period

of inspection would typically be every 6 to 12 months (although this is of

course a guess based upon the information given and would need to be

investigated further).  Also, although a pothole may have been present at

a previous inspection, if it was not "dangerous" at that time then

technically a local authority would not be responsible for repairing it.

The poster mentioned dropping off their bike at a house close to the

accident scene.  It may be worth, when the poster collects the bike,

speaking with the house owner to see if they know how long the pothole has

been present and if they would be prepared to give a statement to any

solicitor who they may appoint confirming this.

The truth is that these types of claims can be very difficult.  Personally

I am finding that in the current economic climate Judges are even more

reluctant to award compensation to victims of accidents such as this when

most local authorities in the country are themselves struggling.  I do not

necessarily agree that this is correct, however, this is the situation I

am personally finding as a solicitor.

I think it is probably worth the poster speaking with a solicitor to

consider this further.  It would be helpful if, before speaking with any

solicitor, the poster has full photographs showing the measurements of the

pothole.

As to whether the poster should continue making investigations with the

council directly, I would was of the opinion that they should withhold

from doing this until they have spoken with a solicitor so as to prevent

putting anything to the local authority which may prejudice a potential

future claim.

Hit and run - how to claim from the MIB

I was on cyclechat.net today and made a response to this thread and

thought I would share with you the information I was able to give the

poster.

After offering my sympathy and expressing my low opinion of hit-and-run

drivers I explained that I am a cyclist but also a solicitor specialising

in cycling claims.

I could see that the poster had already spoken to a legal representative

which is the sensible thing to do, and I am sure that they will have

already provided the poster with some very sensible advice.

In a situation such as this where a hit-and-run driver is responsible it

is vital that the victim reports the accident to the police as soon as

possible, which I could see the poster had already done. If involved in a

hit-and-run a person should try to make sure that they get the name of

whichever police officer or representative they have spoken to, together

with full incident reference numbers so that reports can be traced later

if needs be.

The police will try to trace hit-and-run drivers and, if they are able to

do this, then any personal injury claim and claim for any damage to

property (for example the cycling trousers) can be pursued by a solicitor

directly against that individual.

In reality however, it is often impossible for the police to trace the

driver responsible in a hit-and-run if the accident was not caught on CCTV

or if there were no witnesses. If that were the case then the poster may

be in a position to pursue a personal injury claim against the Motor

Insurers' Bureau (MIB).

The MIB are a central organisation funded by all of the motor insurance

companies. It is their role to compensate the victims of uninsured and

untraced drivers.

In the poster's situation, if the police are unable to trace the

responsible driver, it is likely that the MIB may agree to compensate

them. Certain solicitors may be able to help in submitting a claim to the

MIB however, as the costs which the MIB pay are very limited, not all

solicitors are prepared to do this.

There are a number of criteria which need to be met for a claim to the MIB

following a "hit-and-run" accident to succeed. Importantly, a claim for

personal injury must be reported to the police within fourteen days of an

accident and if there is a claim for property damage (i.e. the damage to

the cycling trousers) it must be reported to the police within five days

of an accident.

It is therefore best practice to report to the police, and to get

reference numbers, as soon as possible following an accident. If a

hit-and-run has not been reported to the police within these time scales

then, potentially, the MIB may reject to deal with a claim outright.

The MIB will investigate the circumstances, make enquiries with the

police, try to contact any witnesses et cetera. If the MIB are able to

track down the responsible driver then they will say the claim must be

re-directed, otherwise the MIB may agree to compensate for injuries and

will obtain a medical report to assess the appropriate amount of

compensation.

The important thing to remember following any hit-and-run incident is to

report it to the police as soon as possible and thereafter seek legal

advice urgently. It is possible to submit an MIB claim to the MIB directly

without using a solicitor, however, a solicitor will be able to provide

advice upon any technical arguments raised by the MIB and upon any offers

put forward by the MIB.