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Hello
I hope you can help.
I drove in the early hours of the morning along a main 30 road coming off a 50 road in wet conditions and hit a very large pothole.
This resulted in a burst front right tyre and I needed to get roadside assistance and a new tyre.
I took photos and submitted a claim via the council website but they have denied my claim saying they have inspected the road quarterly so are not to blame even though the pot hole was known.
Any ideas how to appeal this successfully?
This is what they have written
"It is not always the case that someone is to blame as a result of a defect being present and does not automatically make the Council, as the relevant Highway Authority for Hertfordshire County Council liable for any damage sustained as a result of it. For a claim to be successful it is necessary to show that the Council has failed in its duty to maintain the highway
The Highways Act 1980 requires that as the Highway Authority, the County Council maintain all roads under its jurisdiction. Inspections are therefore carried out at regular intervals, although the frequency depends upon the type of road. After checking with our highway records we can advise that at this location, inspections are carried out Quarterly.
All statutory inspections of the location have been undertaken; most recently the inspection undertaken before your incident took place on the 10/11/2025.
Hertfordshire Highways operates a robust maintenance policy and is responsible for managing and maintaining one of the busiest networks in the country. Further information regarding Hertfordshire County Councils Highway Maintenance Policy can be found on our website www.hertfordshire.gov.uk (defect management approach).
In view of the above we consider that the County Council has complied with our statutory duty as laid down in the Highways Act of 1980 (Section 58) and do not consider that there has been a breach of duty. Given the above, I am unable to offer the compensation that you have requested. "
I hope you can help.
I drove in the early hours of the morning along a main 30 road coming off a 50 road in wet conditions and hit a very large pothole.
This resulted in a burst front right tyre and I needed to get roadside assistance and a new tyre.
I took photos and submitted a claim via the council website but they have denied my claim saying they have inspected the road quarterly so are not to blame even though the pot hole was known.
Any ideas how to appeal this successfully?
This is what they have written
"It is not always the case that someone is to blame as a result of a defect being present and does not automatically make the Council, as the relevant Highway Authority for Hertfordshire County Council liable for any damage sustained as a result of it. For a claim to be successful it is necessary to show that the Council has failed in its duty to maintain the highway
The Highways Act 1980 requires that as the Highway Authority, the County Council maintain all roads under its jurisdiction. Inspections are therefore carried out at regular intervals, although the frequency depends upon the type of road. After checking with our highway records we can advise that at this location, inspections are carried out Quarterly.
All statutory inspections of the location have been undertaken; most recently the inspection undertaken before your incident took place on the 10/11/2025.
Hertfordshire Highways operates a robust maintenance policy and is responsible for managing and maintaining one of the busiest networks in the country. Further information regarding Hertfordshire County Councils Highway Maintenance Policy can be found on our website www.hertfordshire.gov.uk (defect management approach).
In view of the above we consider that the County Council has complied with our statutory duty as laid down in the Highways Act of 1980 (Section 58) and do not consider that there has been a breach of duty. Given the above, I am unable to offer the compensation that you have requested. "
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