A citizen of Braga is asking the Municipality, in the Administrative Court, for a sum of 2,456 euros as compensation for the fact that the car he was driving fell into a hole on a municipal road, which damaged the suspension system.
The action, ‘non-contractual civil liability’, is based on “failure to comply with the duty to monitor and maintain the road in traffic conditions as well as the obligation to signpost it”.
The accident occurred on January 8, 2023, at 7:30 pm, when the complainant, from Braga, was driving a BMW 5K on Rua António Mariz, in Lamaçães.
His lawyer, João Ferreira Araújo, says he was driving in a north-south direction at an average speed of 30 to 40 km/hour and hit the hole violently and had to immobilize the car.
The road – the initial petition also states – was undergoing a phase of maintenance work, carried out by a company, and there was no sign of work or a hole in the pavement. He adds that it was night and it was raining heavily, and that he called the PSP.
The damage affected the rear shock absorber and suspension, the rear shock absorber protection bellows, the air suspension spring and the suspension compressor, elements that, added to the cost of disassembly/assembly, alignment and diagnosis of the air suspension, justify the cost. His car was stopped and he was forced to move by other means.
He says he communicated the fact to the Chamber, but it responded that the work was from a company in Guimarães.
MINHO contacted the lawyer representing the municipality, Paulo Viana, who said he will contest the action, as he does not accept the right to compensation.
