As already stated by Ducatista you are entitled to details of the maintenance records from the relevant Highway Authority (it may not be WCC, it could be a private company). From these you will be able to establish if the defect was identified and what, if any action had been planned to rectify the problem (has it been repaired since your accident?).
One cautionary note, if the defect had occurred after a routine inspection but before your accident, if no one had reported it to the Highway Authority or Police (who would pass details on, they are not responsible for carriageway repairs) the Highway Authority’s defence would be they could not reasonably be expected to carry out a repair.
Good luck.
