Make a highways claim

For a claim to be successful, it must be proved that the Council has been negligent or breached our statutory duty to maintain the highway. To comply with our statutory duty, the Council undertakes routine safety inspections of its highway network and carries out repairs to defects which meet the safety defect matrix criteria, within the appropriate response times. For further details about our standards and procedures, please see our: Highway Safety Inspections – standards and procedures page.

We will defend claims if there is no evidence that the Council has been negligent or if we are able to rely upon the special statutory defence afforded to Highway Authorities under Section 58 of the Highways Act.

Prior to submitting a claim:
Please be aware Surrey County Council will only make an offer of compensation if it is considered legally liable to do so. There is no automatic right to compensation.
We are unable to deal with claims for damage or injury caused as a result of defects on private land or by third party organisations, such as utility companies. In these circumstances, your claim should be directed to the landowner or company responsible.

What happens when we receive your claim

We will provide a formal acknowledgement of your claim within 21 days following receipt. This acknowledgement will confirm your unique claim reference number. We will aim to provide you with a decision on liability within 90 days thereafter; this is in accordance with the relevant pre-action protocols contained within the Ministry of Justice's Civil Procedure Rules.

During periods when we, Surrey County Council, are receiving a high volume of claims, such as over the winter months, this timescale may be exceeded. We will always endeavour to respond to you with our decision on liability as quickly as possible.

You are entitled to seek independent legal advice at any stage of your claim against us.

Personal injury

Submit your claim online

You will need to provide us with details of:

the exact location of incident with reference to an adjacent building or landmark;
a full description of the defect with measurements;
the time, date and weather conditions;
direction of travel;
attach photographs of the alleged defect:
why you believe the highway authority is responsible for the accident;
details of the injury that you sustained;
your National Insurance number;
date of birth;
details of any treating NHS hospital;
details of your earnings if your claim involves loss of earnings.

Further information can be found on our webpage: Frequently asked questions about highways claims.

If you have any issues regarding the online submission process please call 03456 009 009 and ask for the claims team.

The Ministry Of Justice claims portal

Third party solicitors, Claims Managers and other professional representatives are required to submit claims for injury via the Claims Portal, in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers' Liability and Public Liability) Claims.

We are registered on the portal and we can be found by searching 'Surrey County Council' within the compensator details, or by entering our Portal ID: G00055.

For Highways Public Liability claims, please ensure the defendant details are entered as above.

Vehicle or property damage

Submit your claim online

You will need to provide us with:

the exact location of incident with reference to an adjacent building or landmark;
a full description of the defect with measurements;
the time, date and weather conditions;
direction of travel;
attach photograph(s) of the alleged cause of damage;
detail of damage sustained plus two independent estimates for repair or your paid invoice;
why you believe the highway authority is responsible for the accident.
attach proof of vehicle ownership;
attach a copy of current MOT and insurance certificate;
provide details of last service;
any other relevant factors.