Pembroke council ordered to pay €550 after pothole damages car
Council held responsible for lack of maintenance
Pembroke local council has been ordered to pay €550 after a pothole damaged a car during a rainstorm in the locality last year.
The case was filed before the Small Claims Tribunal by Elmo Insurance Ltd as representative of the car's owner, Valeriia Yevgeniyivna Debono.
The company called on the tribunal to hold the council responsible for damages sustained on February 23 last year.
The council contested the claim, saying it was not founded in law or in fact, and that it was not responsible for the damage.
The woman’s husband, Pierre, who had been driving the car on the day of the incident, told the tribunal that it was raining heavily on the day. As he drove in Pembroke a camper van approached from the opposite direction, forcing him to move further to the left.
He recalled feeling a jolt and getting a warning that a tyre was deflated. He initially thought it was a flat tyre but then realised that the tyre had burst and needed to be replaced.
The day after the incident, he returned on site, took photos of the road and filed a claim at the local council. A council official directed him to his insurance.
Two days after the incident, the pothole was patched up.
Pembroke council executive secretary Kevin Borg presented an affidavit in which he said that Debono had turned up at the local council on March 7, 2024, demanding compensation after his car was allegedly damaged due to the condition of the road.
He asked Debono for details of the incident, a site plan, a copy of the insurance cover, driving licence, an insurance claim and a police report. Debono provided the required documents.
Borg said no compensation was paid by the council since it was not certain that the damage was due to the pothole itself, more so since the motorist had continued to drive after the tyre deflated. Furthermore, the photos were not taken on the day of the incident, and therefore the link could not be established.
The tribunal held that the local council was responsible for the maintenance of the roads, and such potholes were unacceptable, more so as they could not be avoided when it rained. It pointed out that had the photo been taken on the day of the incident, one would not have been able to see the pothole due to the heavy downpour.
It held that the local council was responsible for the damages sustained and ordered it to pay €550 to the insurance company.