Trial win offers solace to highway authorities fac

0370 270 6000

Search Mobile

collapse

already registered?

Please sign in with your existing account details.

Email address

Password

need to register?

Register to access exclusive content, sign up to receive our updates and personalise your experience on brownejacobson.com.

Privacy statement - Terms and conditions

Forgotten your password?

collapseSign

Home

Insights & events

Resources

Blogs

Trial win offers solace to highway authorities facing winter maintenance claims

25 July 2014

Mr Yew sought damages against Gloucestershire County Council after slipping on ice on an untreated footway in Tetbury. He alleged that the council was in breach of Section 41(1A) of the Highways Act 1980.

We advised the county council that this was a case to fight to trial.

After accepting that the claimant had slipped as alleged, the judge concluded that:

the council has a carefully prepared and reasonable adverse weather policy
it was reasonable to prioritise the roadways over a footpath
in days of limited resources, it is inevitable that one cannot do everything and in this instance reasonably practicable steps had been taken.

The council therefore had a Section 58 defence and the claimant’s case failed.

This is the first reported trial win for a highway authority facing a footway Section 41(1A) claim. It demonstrates the kind of evidence that highway authorities need to produce to succeed at court and provides helpful guidance for how courts should approach these cases.

Related opinions

The Future of Mediation

In an effort to build a stronger justice system, a shift in priorities has emerged away from adversarial court battles and more towards opportunities for consensual resolution. As one of the most popular forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), mediation has become increasingly encouraged.

View blog

Sequana: Supreme clarification on the duty owed to creditors

The Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed the BTI v Sequana appeal and reviewed the existence, content and engagement of the so-called ‘creditor duty’; being the point at which the interest of creditors is said to intrude upon the decision-making of directors of companies in financial distress.

View blog

Job applicant receives settlement due to unlawful age discrimination at interview

Janice Walsh applied for a job with Domino’s Pizza, hoping to secure a role as a Delivery Driver. However things quickly took a turn for the worse during her initial interview, with the very first question that she was asked relating to her age. Ms Walsh was ultimately informed that she had not been successful in her application.

View blog

Is it hot in here, or is it just me?

Whilst the weather conditions are predicted to be cooling down this week, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is asking employers and businesses to consider adapting to recurrent warmer weather conditions for the safety and benefit of their staff. It asks employers to ensure that extreme heat becomes a firm part of longer term risk management. Climate change in any event is something all businesses will need to consider as the warmer weather becomes more frequent - extreme heat is something that will impact employers on a day to day basis.

View blog

View all blogs