Hannah Nowak has written to Cork County Council about the poor state of the road outside her house four times in the last six months. She has told them in her letters that the condition of the road is very dangerous as there are several potholes which could potentially damage cars and/or cause them to veer off the road. The Council has not replied to her letters. On a Sunday in January, a speeding car runs into the potholes, then veers into an icy patch of road and crashes through Hannah’s garden wall and into her shed, causing approximately €2,000 worth of damage to her property and €1,000 worth of damage to the car involved. Is the Council liable for the damage to Hannah’s property and/or to the car?
Does the council hold liability for the damage to Hannah’s property and/or to the car?
To establish the who is liable for the damage; different elements must be looked at. First Hannah should see if she can make a claim for damage, how to complete a claim, how responsible is the Cork County Council and can the speeding car make a claim?
When Hannah is establishing who is liable for the damage, it is important that she look at the extent of the damage. Hannah has claimed that the extent of damage of €2000 to her garden shed. Hannah should seek help from her solicitor. After being in contact with her solicitor, Hannah should then proceed to fill out a damage report form.
Under the roads act 1993, Cork County Council along with every other council of Ireland holds the same laws; “It shall be a function of the council of a county, the corporation of a county or other borough or the council of an urban district to maintain and construct all local roads”[1]. This shows the county council did not act correctly as they owe a duty of care by law to ensure safety of all roads within Cork.
A property damage claim is “a report or evidence that you submit to an insurance company in the event that your property has been damaged.”[2] To fill out a property damage claim, the more information Hannah has for the Gardai and insurance companies the better. This makes her case more plausible and more likely to receive an award for damages.
In conclusion, Hannah should see who is responsible, the Cork County Council or the driver in the speeding car. In this case it would be the speeding car who held more liability to the damage due to the fact the car should not have been speeding in the first place, but the Cork County Council acted negligently by constantly ignoring Hannah’s letters.
[1] Roads Act 1993, s13 (2).
[2] The balance, ‘what is a property damage claim’ [2020] https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-a-property-damage-claim-527109.
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