Local authorities are under a legal duty to repair potholes in the road, but a certain number will always be there as part and parcel of a less than perfect world. So the Court of Appeal observed as it dismissed a compensation claim by a cyclist who was seriously injured in an accident on a lonely mountain road.
The cyclist hit a pothole as he swerved to avoid a pile of manure in the road. He was thrown to the ground, suffering head and orthopaedic injuries and damaged teeth. He claimed that the hole amounted to a trap for road users and sued the local highway authority for up to £50,000 in damages. However, in rejecting his claim, a judge found that the hole did not constitute a foreseeable hazard.