Hampshire County Council (21 018 596)
Category : Transport and highways > Highway repair and maintenance
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 Mar 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint that her car was damaged due to the Council’s failure to maintain a traffic island. This is because it is reasonable for Mrs B to pursue her compensation claim at court.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs B, complains that her car was damaged after hitting the kerb of a traffic island, which was not clearly signed or visible in the dark. Mrs B complains the Council has wrongly not accepted liability for the damage to her car. Mrs B also complains the Council has delayed considering her claim. Mrs B would like the Council to reimburse her repair costs of £700 and apologise for the time it has taken to resolve the matter.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The Act says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs B.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs B’s complaint is that her car was damaged because of Council negligence. Deciding whether an organisation has been negligent usually involves looking rigorously, and in a structured way at evidence as only the court can to make its findings. The Council has a statutory defence if it can show it could not reasonably have been expected to put right any defects before the incident happened. In addition, only a court can decide if an organisation has been negligent and so should pay damages. We cannot recommend actions or payments that ‘punish’ the organisation.
- I cannot decide whether the Council has been negligent and have no powers to enforce an award of damages. So, I would usually expect someone in Mrs B’s position to seek a remedy in the courts, directly or through her insurers.
- I do not consider there is any exceptional reason why Mrs B cannot do this.
- Because we are not investigating the substantive matter, an investigation solely into the Council’s handling of Mrs B’s claim is not justified.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because it is reasonable for her to pursue her compensation claim at court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman