Driver wins pothole payout from Coventry City Council

[dutchman]

A driver whose car was damaged by potholes in Coventry has won a payout after taking the city council to court.



Hamilton Bland took on the authority after it refused to compensate him for the £2,000 damage to his Mercedes.

He hit two gaping potholes in Canley during the city’s winter roads crisis in January 2010 when hundreds of new potholes appeared after freezing weather.

The 68-year-old former BBC sports commentator has now won a compensation claim of more than £2,000 – and hopes his case may pave the way for other people to do the same.

He took his claim to Coventry County Court after he hit potholes in Charter Avenue and the council said it wasn’t to blame.

Mr Bland argued the impact of hitting the potholes was severe, causing damage to three of the wheels on his Mercedes while he was on his way to a leisure centre for a swim.

After taking the car to a tyre company he was told the wheels were damaged beyond repair, costing him almost £2,000.

Council bosses refused to settle the dispute to the sum of £1,900 and denied the accident was their fault.

Mr Bland said he was sent letters from the council’s lawyers stating they had a strong defence and he would have to pay costs of £3,500 if he was to lose the case.

The 68-year-old, of Cromwell Lane, the managing director of a memorabilia firm, submitted 80 photos of the road to support his claim.

He said: “Taking the council to court was a risk I was prepared to take.

"I always felt I was right – you don’t have to be the world’s greatest detective to know the road had some dangerous potholes.

"Had a cyclist hit one of the potholes it would have been very serious indeed.

“The bottom line is the council underestimated the amount of money needed to repair the roads.

"The council didn’t want me to win but now the judge has approved the claim it opens the door for everyone else in similar situations.

“It was a long hard slog and I did a lot of research but I was determined to challenge what was obviously a fault of the council.

“I formed the opinion that the council could not afford to lose this case as it could open the door for similar claims.

“I’m delighted to see Charter Avenue and many other roads have been totally resurfaced and I sincerely hope they will not fall into disrepair because of under investment in the future.”

At the court hearing, district judge Terry Lynch said: “I have absolutely no doubt in my own mind that this incident happened precisely as described by Mr Bland.

“I have no doubt that the damage to the three wheels of the Mercedes car was caused by two or more potholes in the carriageway and that the potholes were deep enough to cause the damage to the wheels.”

The council has since repaired the road.

[dutchman]

When the council says they have since "repaired" the road, do they mean stripped-off the top layer of tarmac and spread loose gravel chippings everywhere like they've done to all the roads around here?

[rebbonk]

Mr Bland said he was sent letters from the council’s lawyers stating they had a strong defence and he would have to pay costs of £3,500 if he was to lose the case.

Typical scare tactic to stop people pursuing things when they're in the right. Whatever happened to honesty, fairness and accepting responsibility?

I'd like to know just how much the council did actually spend on defending this case.

[StevieG]

Rebbonk, whatever the court costs, it is the taxpayer that stands it

[rebbonk]

Rebbonk, whatever the court costs, it is the taxpayer that stands it

Agreed, which is why I'm interested in knowing just how much of our money they wasted here. I bet it was far in excess of the £3500 that the solicitors threatened.

Another thought, couldn't this have been done via the small claims court? The financial risks there are far lower. (About 10% of the claim if I remember right)