Somerset Council (25 003 857)
Category : Transport and highways > Highway repair and maintenance
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 17 Jul 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint that he suffered financial losses and personal injury from a road traffic accident due to the Council’s failure to repair a defect in the road. This is because Mr X has started court action about the matter.
The complaint
- In June 2024, Mr X was involved in a road traffic accident. He says the accident happened because the Council failed to repair a dangerous defect in the road. He complains the accident caused him financial losses and personal injury. The Council and its insurers have denied liability for the accident.
- Mr X has started the process of making a claim against the Council at court. He complains the Council has ignored his requests to disclose evidence it may rely on and failed to engage in the court disclosure process. He says the Council’s actions are in breach of the Civil Procedure Rules.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Our role is to consider complaints of administrative fault. We cannot decide liability in complaints about damage to property or personal injury. The Council and its insurers have denied liability for the accident, so the question of liability is now ultimately one for the courts. Only the court can decide if the Council has been negligent. The court can assess what damages, if any, the Council should pay. Also, unlike the Ombudsman, the court can order a party to pay damages.
- The liability decision and outcomes Mr X seeks are matters only the courts can determine. Based on the evidence I have seen, Mr X has started court action about the matter and applied to the court to require the Council to disclose certain evidence. For these reasons, the restriction in paragraph four applies, meaning we cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has started court action about the matter.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman