The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about suffering damage to his car caused by a poor road surface. 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 Mr X to approach the court with his claim.
The complaint
Mr X says his car suffered damage arising from the poor road surface of a Council road.
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 Mrs 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 Mr X’s claim of suffering damage to his car, we would normally expect him to pursue this via the courts. This is because it is essentially a negligence claim, and only the courts can decide if the Council is liable for his claim. Also, the courts have the power to award damages against the Council. The Ombudsman has no powers to enforce an award of damages.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect him to go to court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman