Valletta council found liable for road accident

The Valletta local council was yesterday ordered to pay over €2,000 to a car owner who claimed he had an accident because the council had failed to properly maintain a road.

The ruling was delivered by Raphael Fenech Adami in the Small Claims Tribunal in a case instituted by Fogg Insurance Agencies on behalf of its client Anthony Grixti.

The Tribunal heard that Mr Grixti accidentally drove into a large hole in the road on March 25, 2003 at Jews Sally Port in Valletta.

He reported the matter to the police who told the council to minimise the danger the hole presented to drivers.

The hole was so deep that a police officer who testified said that he could see right through it to the sea below and that it was around four metres wide.

The hole was caused when part of the road caved in a week before the accident. According to Mr Grixti, his accident was caused solely by the dangerous state of the road which was supposed to be maintained by the council.

Dr Fenech Adami said the council had been aware of this problem and had in fact placed crash barriers on the site. It also admitted that the damage to the road represented a grave danger to the public.

Once the council had not taken timely action to repair the road, the tribunal found it liable in damages towards Mr Grixti.