Man to take council to court after ‘horrific’ pothole accident

A man is set to take his local council to court after he suffered from ‘life-changing’ injuries when his motorcycle hit a pothole in the road.

Father-of-three Darren Crooks was riding his Suzuki on the A260 in Kent when he experienced the ‘horrific’ crash.

The 37-year-old, who is still experiencing pain seven months later, is said to have crashed through metal barriers at the side of the road, and the suspension on his bike completely snapped.

According to reports, Mr. Crooks needed almost 10 hours of surgery, suffered from ‘significant blood loss’, a fractured right femur and broken bones in his other leg and food as well as ruptured ligament in his knee as a result of the pothole-related accident.

Mr. Crooks, of Wingham, near Canterbury told a media outlet:

“It was horrific.

“I was waiting on the roadside for almost an hour and a half before the ambulance arrived.

“If it hadn’t been for the help of an off-duty paramedic who just happened to be passing by, it could have ended very differently – I lost a lot of blood.”

Mr. Crooks underwent nine-and-a-half hours of surgery and a further four months of at-home recovery and physiotherapy as a result of the accident.

“Today, walking is still excruciating and my physiotherapist said that even though, with time, I will get more movement back, there will be things now that I simply won’t be able to do. It’s like I’ve aged 60 years.

‘My three children are all really keen on sports and outdoor activities and it’s affected how I can play with them.

‘It’s like a chunk of their life that’s been taken away”, he added.

Figures show that Kent had the highest number of pothole-related deaths between 2018 and 2022 in the UK, with faults in roads having caused 15 deaths or serious injuries.

After the accident, the police closed the road and Kent County Council (KCC) carried out an emergency repair. But, according to reports, the council, is denying any liability for the crash.

Mr. Crooks’ solicitor told the Daily Mail that the council could escape liability if it could show that it had a good system of inspection of potholes on the road, maintenance and repair of the road and if the pothole was not there at the last inspection and had not received complaints.

It is understood that the KCC has argued that its last inspection of the road was just the month before.

But Mr. Crooks is pushing forward with the legal claim, and said when he revisited the site of the accident the pothole had opened up again.

A KCC spokesperson said:

“Our priority is always to ensure the safety of everyone that uses our roads and we wish the motorcyclist well in his recovery.

“We last inspected the A260 in March 2023 and attended the site alongside Kent Police when the incident occurred, where clear photographs were taken identifying a small defect in the road.

“While we are not able to comment on individual claims, we recognise the responsibility we have to make sure our roads are safe to use and keep Kent moving.

“That is why we are spending millions this financial year to repair potholes and other safety-critical defects on one of the largest road networks of any local authority in England.

“Anyone who sees a pothole on our road can report it directly to us on our website using our highway fault reporting tool.”

Further reading

Driver and passenger claims – Oakwood Solicitors

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