Background

We recently received two claims for damage to bridge parapets, which are high containment Vehicle Restraint Systems (VRS), manufactured from aluminium or steel to a high specification. Damage to these can lead to additional costs in the form of edge protection to protect workers and the public whilst repairs are undertaken.

The first claim was presented for damage to a bridge parapet over a river. The claimant presented costs of £12,596 for the complete renewal of the bridge parapet, along with call out and Traffic Management (TM) costs. It was unclear why a complete renewal had been undertaken, but the claimant stated this was their only option.

The second claim, saw damage to a motorway bridge parapet. Costs were presented by the claimant at £100,558 for the renewal of the bridge parapet. There were also costs for Temporary Vertical Concrete Barriers (TVCB) whilst the repairs were completed and new VRS on approach and departure connections.

How we helped

For the bridge parapet over the river, our team investigated the originally submitted claim, and utilised their industry expertise and contacts. The investigation found that a full renewal was not necessary, and the team were able to provide a reasonable repair figure based on similar jobs.

We presented the claimant with our findings and they, after further negotiation, accepted the proposal for the repairs, including the costs for TM and call out as submitted.

After reviewing the documents for the motorway bridge parapet, our team, once again, questioned why the entire parapet had been renewed. We were informed that it was the only available course of action by the claimant’s contractor, as this type of parapet was no longer manufactured.

We made enquiries as to whether a repair was in fact feasible and obtained multiple quotes for a repair. After taking an average for the quotes obtained, we went back to the claimant with our findings.

Results

The claim for the bridge parapet over the river was settled at £4,585.75 against the £12,596.75 originally claimed. This represents a saving of £8,011.00 for our client or 63.5% of the original claim.

For the motorway bridge parapet, our client wanted to avoid litigation so was keen to reach an agreement. The claimant’s original claim was £100,558 and they reduced their demands to a “final offer” of £56,000.00. After further negotiation, and with our client’s desire to avoid litigation in mind we were able to settle the claim at £50,000.00, a saving of £50,558.11 or 50.3% of the original claim.

To find out more about how our Impact Solutions services could save you money on your third party damage claims, get in touch with James Harris, Casualty Growth Director on james.harris@davies-group.com.