Council compensation claims

I have dealt with several claims against local councils, following pavement trip accidents.

To succeed in a pavement trip compensation claim, we have to cross several hurdles.

Public Land

To begin with, we have to prove that your accident happened on land "maintained at public expense".

Proving that the local council owns the land in question is not always easy.

Sometimes the land actually turns out to be private.

On other occasions gas or water companies have caused the trip hazard.

If so, then this can make them responsible.

Highways Act 1980

Apart from the above, normally the compensation claim against the council will be from a breach of the Highways Act 1980.

Under the Highways Act Act, the local council has a duty to "maintain the highway". This includes the footpath.

To escape liability, the local authority must prove that it had a suitable system for the pavement to be inspected and fixed.

Realistically, if the local council can produce evidence of a proper system of inspection, then the compensation claim will go no further.

Contributory Negligence

Very often, the local authority will try to blame the injured person.

In several cases I have handled previously, the solicitors acting for the local council have alleged drunkenness.

Other frequent accusations are failure to wear glasses, failure to keep a lookout and even prior awareness of the defect.

Normally such accusations do not stand up to close scrutiny.

Why should somebody have to "look at the ground with every step he takes"?

Council Compensation Claim: example 1

The first case study concerns a trip accident in Leamington Spa.

The client became injured outside a block of flats.

Going from the flats to the pavement was a concrete path.

Where the path joined the pavement, a large tree root had broken the pavement, creating a hazardous tripping point.

The client tripped and badly broke his ankle.

Only two days before the accident, he had become self-employed.

The accident badly disrupted the first year of his business.

I put forward a compensation claim against the council, which was Warwick District Council.

The local authority's solicitors denied liability.

Surprisingly, they maintained that the accident had happened while the client was in his garden shed, and not on the pavement.

This was firmly disputed.

Shortly before trial, the local authority advanced compensation proposals that were accepted.

The claim settled about two years after the accident.

Despite the passage of time, the pavement had still not been repaired by then.

Council Compensation Claim: example 2

The next case study is from the Birmingham suburb of Kings Heath.

In that case, the pavement trip hazard was outside the client's house.

The hazard was a protruding manhole cover. Around it, the pavement was broken.

Severn Trent Water had installed an inspection box at the spot.

But they had failed to repair the pavement again afterwards.

As can be seen, the result was a dangerously uneven section in the pavement.

My client tripped and fell, suffering a badly broken ankle.

She needed an operation to insert a plate and pins.

Following surgery, the client was effectively housebound. This was particularly awkward because she had 3 young children.

Her mother and sisters helped around the house, until she was more mobile.

I made a compensation claim, firstly against Birmingham City Council, and secondly against Severn Trent Water.

Clearly one of the two defendants was to blame.

Yet despite this, they both denied liability.

I issued county court proceedings.

One firm of solicitors was appointed, acting for both defendants.

Liability was then admitted.

The litigation continued for a further short period until sensible compensation was offered and accepted.

Council Compensation Claim: example 3

The next pavement tripping accident happened in Kingstanding, a blue-collar area of North Birmingham.

The tripping point in this case consisted of a very large manhole cover.

As can be seen, this had been installed obstructing the footpath.

No attempt had been made to make it level with the surrounding area.

the client walks with a walking stick. He was going home in the dark.

He tripped over the protruding manhole cover and fell.

The next morning he had severe back pain.

He called an ambulance and was treated at the Good Hope Hospital.

I put forward a personal injury claim against Birmingham City Council.

Quite unusually in a council compensation claim, their loss adjusters admitted liability quite promptly.

Appropriate damages were negotiated out of court.

Council Compensation Claim: example 4

The next case study is from Erdington, another North Birmingham suburb.

A hole in the footpath was the cause of the accident.

The hole was an unguarded utilities access chamber. It was supposed to have a lid, but the lid was missing.

The resultant hole measured roughly 4 inches square.

When her accident happened, the client was with a group of friends. They were walking back to her home, from the pub.

My client's foot went down the hole. She tripped and fell to the ground.

Her ankle was clearly damaged, so she attended at the Good Hope Hospital.

X-rays were taken, but at first the hospital failed to spot that the ankle was fractured.

I arranged an independent orthopaedic examination, and the prognosis was for a complete recovery.

I then made a compensation claim against Birmingham City Council and also against Severn Trent Water.

The two defendants agreed to pay compensation to my client. They shared liability between them on a 50/50 basis.

Appropriate compensation was successfully negotiated.

Making a council compensation claim - Tactics used by local authorities

As a rule, pavement tripping claims tend to be contested.

No doubt, local authorities fear that the "floodgates" would otherwise open.

Faced with a compensation claim, most councils try to avoid responsibility.

Common defences include the following:

• The land was privately owned
• Nearby contractors were responsible
• The defect had arisen all of a sudden, so it had not been picked up during the regular monthly inspection system
• The injured person failed to look where he was placing his feet

The role of the solicitor when making a council compensation claim

Based on experience, pavement tripping claims require a particular approach.

The solicitor should:

• Swiftly get photos before the evidence disappears
• Press the local council to provide copies of its inspection records
• If the local council denies owning the land, do a Land Registry search
• Start court proceedings if there is no response from the local authority.

Getting photos

Before anything else, it is always a good idea to obtain photos as soon as possible.

Sometimes the accident is caused by a depression in the pavement.

If so, then the best method is to place a metre rule over the top of the dip. The distance from the metre rule to the bottom of the dip can then be measured.

On the left is a photo showing this, from a claim against Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, where liability was admitted.

Long-range photos are always helpful. These should show the hazard with reference to nearby landmarks, such as street names or house numbers.

It is also a good idea to include photos taken from "all points of the compass", to show the defective pavement as seen by pedestrians approaching from all directions.

The final word

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UK pavement tripping injury claim legal advice.
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