Kyle Bullock, a 38 year-old Australian man, has successfully won accident compensation after falling down a pothole in a road which caused him to develop serious brain damage, reports the Haringey Independent.
The man had been walking down Lightfoot Road, Hornsey. On his journey he fell down a pothole, which caused him severe injuries to the head. As a result Mr Bullock was forced to undergo brain surgery for his wounds.
Initially Homes for Haringey denied responsibility, denying the pothole had caused the accident, whilst accepting that the road had not been maintained to a proper standard. Following years of litigation, Mr Bullock’s claim was settled at the High Court and he will receive an undisclosed yet substantial amount of accident compensation from the housing group.
Solicitor Jill Greenfield, who represented Mr Bullock, spoke of the court ruling which awarded Mr Bullock his accident compensation: "Kyle has fought hard to recover a good quality of life following such a terrible accident. It is truly shocking to think this could have been avoided if Homes for Haringey had filled these holes. This has to be the worst case of a pot hole causing such serious injuries.”
A spokesman from Homes for Haringey responded to Ms Greenfield’s comments and Mr Bullock’s accident compensation pay-out, saying: “We are sorry for the injury and distress suffered by Mr Bullock. Following this incident, we introduced a comprehensive maintenance programme on all Homes for Haringey estates.”
Continuing to disclose information of the new maintenance programme which came as a result of Mr Bullock’s accident compensation success, the spokesperson stated: “We carry out twice-yearly inspections of all estate roads and footpaths, making repairs as necessary. We spend £300,000 each year on maintenance as part of our efforts to prevent this kind of incident from happening again.”