Drivers Win Court Actions Against the State Road Agency of Ukraine in 70% of Cases

In 2009–2021, Ukrainians sued the State Road Agency of Ukraine 92 times and won 65 times. Justice was thus done in 70% of cases.

Over the past 18 months, UAH 774,071 was charged from the State Road Agency of Ukraine under 9 driver lawsuits.

Who managed to get compensation from the State Road Agency of Ukraine?

Won last year, the lawsuit with the largest compensation (UAH 332,035) was filed in 2016. The complainant was the driver of a Mercedes vehicle, who suffered a severe shoulder injury after a 12-cm-deep pothole caused his car to swerve from the road into the treeline.

The injured party sued OJSC State Joint-Stock Company Automobile Roads of Ukraine, a Zhytomyr Regional Road Agency subsidiary, for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages. The proceedings continued for four years. The overall amount claimed was UAH 675,222, including UAH 325,000 as compensation for non-pecuniary damages.

In 2020, the claim was partially upheld, the claimant getting the compensation of UAH 331,0534 (UAH 296,435 for car repairs, UAH 24,619 for surgery and medications, and UAH 10,000 for non-pecuniary damages).

How can you get compensation from the State Road Agency of Ukraine?

If you want to sue for road accident damages due to poor road condition, lawyer Alla Melnychenko suggests using this algorithm:

1. Call the police
2. Verify that a police protocol is made against the people responsible for maintaining the road
3. Capture the following on photo and video: unmarked pothole, car damage, lack of Caution or Rough Road signs
4. Ask witnesses to provide testimony to police
5. Provide the police with your own testimony in writing (incident circumstances, description of car damage, pothole size, availability of photographic evidence) and verify that it is included in the police protocol
6. Demand from the police that the person responsible for the maintenance of this section of the road is brought onto the scene to be handed a copy of the protocol
7. File a claim for compensation of damages with a local court, indicating the person and the company responsible for maintaining the road section in question as defendants.

How often poor road condition causes road accidents?

According to the Patrol Police of Ukraine, 401 people were injured and 70 died in 2020–2021 because of the poor condition of the Ukrainian roads. Over a third of the fatal casualties and a half of the injured (27 and 207, respectively) were registered in Lviv Region, traditionally the leader by road accidents of this kind.

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