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Reporting date: May 7, 2026
Newly released figures show West Midlands councils have paid out a combined £555,343 in compensation for pothole-related vehicle damage and injuries over the past three budget years. The same authorities spent more than £19.4 million just on fixing road defects, according to data obtained through freedom-of-information requests by the legal claims firm Legal Expert.
The numbers cover the period from 2023/24 to 2025/26 and reflect growing pressure on local road maintenance budgets. Across the region, councils recorded roughly 97,000 potholes during that time, with Birmingham and Dudley accounting for more than two-thirds of the total.
Solihull Council emerged as the biggest payer, handing out £209,998 in compensation despite recording only 8,413 potholes. That figure stands out because several councils with far more reported potholes paid less. Dudley Council followed with £164,713.16, while Birmingham City Council paid £138,812.45. Wolverhampton Council was the most economical in terms of payouts, at just £10,858.38 over the three-year period.
Some authorities, however, could not provide complete data. Coventry City Council and Walsall Council were unable to supply figures for vehicle damage or personal injury payouts. Birmingham City Council also missed compensation data for the 2025/26 financial year, meaning its actual payout total is likely higher than reported.
Birmingham City Council received the highest number of pothole reports: 36,859. Dudley followed with 28,167. These two areas combined accounted for over 67 per cent of all pothole reports across the West Midlands.
Repair spending followed a similar pattern, though not every council provided a clear breakdown. The region as a whole spent more than £19.4 million on pothole repairs across the three-year period. Birmingham and Wolverhampton did not release detailed spend data, and Walsall said it could not isolate pothole repair costs from broader reactive highway maintenance, which includes damaged footways, road gullies, kerbs, bollards and guardrails.
The figures come with a stark warning from the RAC. Simon Williams, the organisation’s head of policy, said potholes are no longer only a winter problem. Prolonged summer heat is now contributing to road surface breakdown.
Williams explained that intense UV exposure and heat slowly oxidise the bitumen that binds asphalt together. That makes the road surface more brittle and prone to cracking. Once cracks form, traffic and later rainfall can quickly turn minor damage into serious defects.
He added: “After the exceptional heat of this summer it's even more important that we maintain our roads properly. We need to be surface dressing roads still in reasonable condition to keep them that way.”
That maintenance approach, he said, involves spreading chippings onto fresh bitumen binder and sealing the surface against water ingress, which is the main trigger for cracking and pothole formation.
The West Midlands data is a UK-specific snapshot, but the underlying issue is global. Pothole damage has become a major financial burden for American drivers too.
According to AAA, pothole-related breakdowns cost U.S. drivers an estimated $3 billion each year. The Automobile Association’s research has consistently found that damaged wheels, blown tyres and alignment problems are among the most common pothole-related claims. Another study by TRIP, a U.S. transport research group, estimated that damaged pavement conditions cost motorists tens of billions of dollars annually in vehicle repairs and operating costs.
The comparison matters because the causes are the same: freeze-thaw cycles in colder states, heavy rain in coastal regions, and increasingly intense summer heat elsewhere. Municipal and state road crews across the U.S. have also warned that underfunded maintenance budgets are forcing them to focus on emergency repairs rather than preventive resurfacing.
Yet the West Midlands numbers reveal a striking mismatch: some councils faced relatively few pothole reports but still paid high compensation. Solihull’s experience suggests that the severity of the defect, not just the number of reported potholes, drives claims. A handful of deeply damaged stretches can generate substantial payouts if left unrepaired.
Legal Expert, which submitted the freedom-of-information requests, said the payout data likely underestimates the true impact. Some motorists do not file claims, while others pursue claims through their own insurers, meaning the cost is transferred to insurance premiums rather than recorded as council compensation.
There is also a timing gap. A pothole can damage a vehicle immediately, but the resulting compensation claim may not appear in council data until months later. That means the final cost for the 2025/26 period, especially in Birmingham, could rise as outstanding claims are settled.
The figures have prompted fresh calls for roads to be treated as critical infrastructure rather than an optional budget line. Road surface quality is directly linked to road safety, and potholes force motorcyclists and cyclists to swerve into traffic, creating additional hazards. Injuries related to potholes, though lower in number than vehicle damage claims, push councils’ costs up further because personal injury payouts are typically much larger.
Drivers in the West Midlands — and elsewhere — who hit a pothole are advised to document the scene carefully. That means taking photos of the defect with a clear reference point, noting the exact time and location, and reporting the issue to the local council or highway authority.
Councils are not automatically liable for every pothole-related damage. Under UK rules, authorities are required to inspect roads on a cycle agreed locally, and they can defend a claim if they can show they took reasonable steps to identify and repair defects. A well-maintained log of inspections and recent maintenance work is often enough for a council to reject a claim.
Still, motorists are encouraged to submit claims even after a rejection, especially if the same pothole remains unrepaired and other drivers complain about it. The West Midlands data confirms that compensation is being paid, but the amounts vary wildly across districts. Legal advice may be needed for larger claims that cover suspension damage or personal injury.
The West Midlands picture is unlikely to improve without a long-term funding settlement. Repair costs are climbing as materials, labour and equipment become more expensive, and the backlog of damaged roads grows. The RAC warning about heat-related deterioration adds another layer: summer 2025 saw above-average temperatures in parts of the UK, which may have accelerated the formation of new defects.
Meanwhile, the public expects roads to be safe. Councils face the difficult task of balancing pothole repair against other essential services. The £19.4 million spent in the West Midlands over three years is substantial, yet the region still recorded close to 100,000 potholes. That disconnect suggests that simply spending more money on reactive repairs is not enough.
Preventive maintenance, such as surface dressing and crack sealing, is cheaper in the long run, but it requires consistent funding and political will. Until that approach becomes standard, pothole-related compensation costs in the West Midlands — and in other regions facing similar pressures — will likely remain elevated.
For now, drivers are left to navigate a network that is showing its age. The £555,343 compensation paid to motorists over the past three years is a small fraction of the true cost, but it is a clear signal that road conditions have reached a point where both councils and motorists are paying the price.
