Government could be billed for damage caused by potholes
Motorists could take the Government to court to recoup repair costs if they can prove damage to a vehicle was caused by a pothole, according to an island lawyer.
Peter Sanderson, a senior litigation counsel at BeesMont Law, said that under the Occupiers and Highway Authorities Liability Act 1978, the highway authority — the Government — “has a duty to take reasonable care to ensure that highway users are safe”.
“This comes from a similar law in England, where road users will routinely send the bills for repairs to the local council if they hit a pothole which ought to have been fixed,” Mr Sanderson said.
“If the Government refuses to pay out for repairs, then the claim can go to court. This means that, if potholes are not addressed properly, it becomes even more expensive for government, as they have to start paying for vehicle repairs and defending claims on top of road maintenance.”
He added: “People would have to show that the pothole was there long enough for government to have had a chance to fix it and they would have to show damage was due to the pothole.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, the public works minister, Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, admitted that successive governments had been guilty of neglecting infrastructure upgrades, leading to the present state of the island’s roads.
In the Budget last week, it was announced that the Ministry of Public Works would be given an extra $5 million to tackle the island’s pothole problem.
Despite the financial boost, David Burt acknowledged in the Budget Statement that funding for the ministry was still below global recommendations.
Delivering his Budget in the House of Assembly, the Premier explained that developed economies were typically expected to spend between 2 and 4 per cent of GDP on infrastructure improvements.
Bermuda has not hit that target since 2008, and this year’s allocation still represents only 1.3 per cent of GDP.
• To read the Occupiers and Highway Authorities Liability Act 1978, see Related Media
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