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Car scratched on skip without permit: can I claim against either Highways or skip company
I have scratched the side of my car on a skip parked on the road. The skip itself was sitting on double yellow lines and following an enquiry with the local highways agency (Oxford) it transpires the skip has no permit. I was forced to pull in sharply because of a van approaching in the opposite direction. The situation was exacerbated by the narrowness of the road and limited visibility owing to the skip's propinquity to a bend in the road. Do I have any grounds for claim either against the council or the skip company?
It is unlikely that a claim against the council would succeed. A claim against the skip company may succeed particularly if the incident took place at night and the skip was not lit. If it was in broad daylight then the skip company might argue that although the skip did not have a permit it was a highly visible stationary hazard and you should have held your ground and avoided collision.
The particular problem with incidents involving skips is that they are not vehicles and hence any motor legal expenses you have will not cover the case and you may incur costs in bringing an action.
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