Wakefield City Council (23 008 724)
Category : Transport and highways > Highway repair and maintenance
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 11 Sep 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr C’s complaint that his car was badly damaged due to the Council’s failure to maintain a road. This is because it is reasonable for Mr C to pursue his compensation claim by taking the Council to court.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr C, complains his car was damaged after hitting potholes which the Council had failed to repair. Mr C complains the Council has wrongly refused his compensation claim for the damage to his car. Mr C would like the Council to pay his repair costs.
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 Mr C.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr C complains his vehicle was damaged due to the Council’s failure to maintain a road it is responsible to maintain. In effect, Mr C complains the Council has been negligent.
- 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. 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.
- Further, 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.
- 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 Mr C’s position to seek a remedy in the courts, directly or through his insurers.
- I do not consider there is any exceptional reason why Mr C cannot do this. So, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr C’s complaint because it is reasonable for him to pursue his compensation claim by taking the Council to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman