Victim of faulty cattlegrid crash being 'ignored' by council

A BURLEY woman who crashed her car due a faulty cattlegrid has accused Hampshire County Council of causing her extra distress by ignoring her insurance claim.

Angry care worker Karen Peckham is seeking £425 from highways authority HCC for the excess she had to pay on her car insurance and the loss of earnings she suffered as a result of having to take two days off work.

But her insurers Esure have had no response from the council and have instructed Horwich Farrelly solicitors to prepare to fight the case at court.

In an interview with the A&T, Karen said the battle is causing her stress and anxiety.

She is baffled by how obstructive HCC is being, since Cllr Rob Humby, the authority’s cabinet member for transport and environment, has admitted the cattle grid was at fault and apologised.

“All I want them to do is pay what they should,” said the 55-year-old. “That’s my loss of earnings, which was £175, and the £250 excess. I just want to get it all over and finished – I do not want to go to court, I don’t want all this.”

Karen was at the wheel of her Mini Cooper on 29th October last year when she drove over the cattle grid close to the Rising Sun pub at Bashley. It was missing a bar, which caused a crash that damaged the underside of her car.

“I went over it and it just went ‘bang’ – an almighty bang – like a bomb going off,” she said. “My car went onto two wheels. It was very frightening.

“Imagine if that had been a motorbike. It would have been a fatality. The policeman who came to the scene was so concerned at the state of the cattle grid he radioed through and asked that all the others in the area be checked out. He said it was ‘disgusting’ and ‘not safe’.”

Following the accident, the A&T published an article that included a quote from Cllr Humby which read: “I was sorry to hear there was an incident on the B3058. One of the rails on the cattle grid had become detached and we are currently investigating how this happened.

“We are working as quickly as possible to fix it and a new rail is in the process of being made, which we are hoping to install before the end of this week. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”

Although Karen, who works for New Milton firm Forest Care, escaped without any physical injuries, she says the incident has left her shaken up.

“After the crash I was an emotional wreck – I live in Burley and have got to go over a cattle grid to get out of my road,” she said. “The first time I drove after it happened, I stopped my car as I didn’t want to go over it, and I had to really make myself do it.

“I am frightened to death of cattle grids now and want to avoid them.

Karen added: “My argument is that, while I love my job, I don’t go to work for pleasure – I have to pay my bills and council tax. If I were to say to the county council, I’m not paying my council tax bill, they would soon be on to me getting me to pay up, and yet when I have done nothing wrong and it’s something they are responsible for, they treat you like this.”

Approached by the A&T, HCC issued a statement by Cllr Humby, which read: “While I cannot comment on the details of this particular case as it is subject to legal proceedings, I would say that the county council carefully considers all claims submitted, in line with the legal responsibilities as the highway authority.

“There is no automatic right to compensation and each claim submitted is thoroughly investigated to determine liability as it is essential to ensure that council taxpayers’ money is used appropriately.”