The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about damage to Miss X’s car. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. It is reasonable to expect Miss X to take her claim for damage to court.
The complaint
In summary, Miss X complains about damage to her car amounting to £400. Miss X says the damage was caused by the poor state of the highway. She would like the Council to reimburse her.
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 law 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 Miss X.
I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council as a local highways authority has a statutory duty to maintain roads. The Council is expected to routinely monitor the state of highways and carry out repairs where necessary. But, the level of maintenance, frequency of inspection, and threshold for repair is not set out in law and is open to interpretation.
In terms of Miss X’s claim to cover her repair costs, we would normally expect her to pursue this via the courts (if the Council turns down her insurance claim). This is because it is essentially a negligence claim, and only the courts can decide if the Council is liable for any damage arising. Further, the courts would have the power to award damages against the Council. The Ombudsman has no such power to enforce an award of damages.
Final decision
We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect her to go to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman