A coroner found it 'wholly mystifying' that Lancashire County Council maintained 'until the bitter end' that the pothole was present before it closed up on its own and then reappeared
Although inquests are not concerned with apportioning blame there are cases in which a coroner can flag up concerns regarding the way in which someone has died.
All four highways workers failed to spot the 'trench'. Furthermore, a highways inspector who carried out a routine inspection 11 days later, not only missed the pothole but later insisted it must have somehow closed up on its own before reappearing by the time of Harry's death. "Mrs Hull gave clear and unchallenged evidence that the crack shown in the photo with Cogie Cottage at the top left is the same crack that had her hands in in the photo we have come to call the “hands” photo. That is a crack defect just down from Cogie Cottage.
"I am required, it seems to me, to resolve this issue given the evidence of Mr Treen and Ms Williams that the crack was not present on his inspection on the 26th September 2022 and thus was not missed by him. I can find no plausible explanation which would account for a defect which was hazardous and present on the 9th of September 2022 and present on the 2nd January 2023 to have been not present on the 15th and 26th September 2022.
3. Was the defect appropriately managed? " Mark O’Donnell was the recipient of the email from Mrs Brodie. He responded immediately and, I find, responded appropriately for his role. He organised a meeting of his team including engineers and ordered that repair teams were sent out. He showed his team the hands photograph and passed on the relevant detail that he had. From his perspective, as an operations manager, I consider that his reaction was appropriate.
"However the difficulty I have with this issue is that the photo and information, whilst undoubtedly helpful, should not have been necessary. A full and appropriate inspection of the entirety of any road ought to be sufficient to identify any defects, even without the specific information. "I therefore conclude it is more likely than not that the inspection which took place that day was insufficient or not of an unacceptable standard."
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