Council And Local Authority Compensation Claims
If you’ve suffered an injury and believe the council is to blame, we can help you claim compensation
£85 million in compensation
Council And Local Authority Compensation Claims
If you’ve suffered an injury and believe the council is to blame, we can help you claim compensation
Council And Local Authority Compensation Claim
Our local councils hold responsibility over a number of different parts of the areas in which we live. For example, it’s up to them to repair roads, keep pavements in good order, and to manage and maintain our public parks.
Sometimes, things aren’t looked after as well as they should be. Equipment like park benches or children’s play areas can become broken and hazardous to use. Roads can develop potholes which cars and cyclists can hit. Tree roots can cause paving stones to rise, creating the risk of tripping.
If you’ve suffered an injury and want to make a public liability claim, you’re in the right place. Here at JF Law, we specialise in these types of cases and can help you get the compensation and justice you deserve.
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What Are The Eligibility Criteria For Council Compensation Claims?
All council compensation claims must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible:
- The council must have owed you a duty of care
- The council must have failed to enact their duty
- You must have been injured as a result of this
The duty of care refers to the responsibility of a person, organisation, or body to follow certain legislation that protects people’s health and safety. When the council fails to uphold this duty, it can pose a risk to people’s well-being.
Legislation that the council must follow to uphold its duty includes:
- The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA)- this applies if you are an employee of the council and means that your employer must take reasonable steps to protect your health and safety at work.
- The Occupier’s Liability Act 1957 (OLA)- this applies to the council’s responsibility to take the necessary steps to protect the reasonable safety of the general public when using any space where the council is in charge.
You can speak with one of our advisors if you are unsure about the eligibility requirements to claim council compensation payouts. You can also keep reading this guide for some examples of eligible cases that may further help you understand.
Time Limits For Claims Against The Council
If you want to sue the council for an injury, it’s very important that you take legal action within the time limit. According to the Limitation Act 1980, you have 3 years from the date of the accident to begin court proceedings.
If you don’t take this step within the 3-year period, there is a strong chance you’ll be time-barred, which means you won’t be able to claim.
This rule does not apply to those under the age of 18. As the law doesn’t consider a person to be a legal adult until they turn 18, they must get help making a claim, with someone able to act on their behalf. This is usually a parent or guardian, and their role is known as a “litigation friend“.
To check if you’re in time to make a claim against the council, please click the button below to speak with us for free.
Examples Of Council Compensation Claims
When making personal injury compensation claims against local councils, you must be able to prove that the injuries you sustained came about due to their negligence. Generally, you can only make a personal injury claim against the council if they have breached their duty of care towards you, and you have been injured as a result.
Car Accidents
As part of the Highways Act 1980, the highway authorities are responsible for major roads such as motorways and larger dual carriageways. Whereas, the council or local authority is responsible for smaller roads.
A council may be negligent for a road traffic accident if they failed to fix faulty traffic lights that they became aware of after carrying out a risk assessment. As a result, the traffic lights may have displayed the incorrect information leading to a car accident collision and causing you to experience severe whiplash.
Get in touch with our team for more information on car accident council compensation claims.
Injuries Resulting From Poor Maintenance
Poor maintenance could occur as a result of the council or local authority failing to take practical steps to remove or control any risks they become aware of.
For example, councils are in charge of certain schools and they have a duty to keep the spaces they’re responsible for, safe for their intended purpose.
If they fail to do so, a child could sustain a head injury due to a piece of playground equipment breaking. Alternatively, someone could suffer a facial burn due to a faulty pipe at a council-run school, or someone could break a bone by tripping on uneven pavement.
For further information on how to sue the council for uneven pavement, contact our team of advisors. They can provide free legal advice and guidance on how to proceed with your claim.
Slips, Trips And Falls
A slip, trip and fall could occur if a pavement has been poorly maintained or there has been no signage placed near maintenance works to warn you of the danger.
As a result, you could sustain a broken foot or broken leg after falling. Contact our team for more information on council compensation claims and suing the council for uneven pavement.
How To Make A Claim Against The Council For Pothole Damage
Potholes are one potential cause of road traffic accidents and pavement accidents. However, you must ensure that you meet the personal injury claims eligibility criteria when suing the council for an injury you suffered due to pothole damage.
Additionally, if you meet the eligibility criteria to make a personal injury claim against the council, you must also be able to prove that the council were aware of this pothole damage and that they did not take steps to resolve the issue within a timely mannerly. Later in this guide, we will discuss the types of evidence that could be used to help support your compensation claim.
You can contact our advisors today if you have any questions about how to make a claim against the council for pothole damage. They could also provide you with free advice and potential council compensation payouts.
Accidents In Schools
Schools have a duty of care to ensure their pupils are reasonably safe whilst on their premises. However, in some instances, the council could be liable for any injuries your child sustains in a school accident. That’s because there are different types of schools that are run by councils, i.e. community schools and some grammar schools.
In these circumstances, the council has a duty to maintain school premises and ensure the health and safety of pupils so far as is reasonably practicable. Should the council fail in their duty of care and your child has an accident and is injured on school grounds, you may have grounds to sue the council for their negligence.
Below are some examples of how the council could be at fault for a school accident:
- Not correcting defective pavement, resulting in a trip accident.
- Failing to maintain children’s playground equipment, such as fixing steps on a ladder, causing a fall accident.
- Council staff, such as a cleaner, failing to signpost a recently mopped floor, leading to a slip or fall accident.
If you have other questions about council compensation claims, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team of friendly advisors. You can contact us at any time for free.
Accidents In Social Housing
If the council maintains your housing, they have a duty of care to ensure your property meets the standard requirement of living. Furthermore, necessary repairs should be carried out if you report any potential housing disrepairs or hazards to the council.
Failure to do so would be an act of council negligence. If you suffer harm as a result, you may have grounds to begin the council compensation claims process.
Below are some examples of how social housing accidents could happen:
- Faulty electric wiring causes an electric shock.
- A loose roof slate falls off and hits you on the head, causing a traumatic head injury.
- A defective floorboard may result in a trip accident, and you could suffer an ankle injury.
Our expert council housing solicitors could assist you if you are considering suing the council for negligence. Contact our advisors today to see if you could be eligible to work with them.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Evidence is required for council compensation claims. When bringing forward your own case, you’ll need to provide proof of your injuries and how they were caused by a local council or authority breaching their duty of care.
Evidence for council claims may include the following:
- Video footage that shows your accident taking place, such as CCTV footage.
- Photographs of your injuries and the accident scene.
- The contact information of any witnesses who can provide a statement about your accident.
- Medical records that confirm the injuries you’re claiming for and the medical treatment you’ve received for them.
If your claim is being supported by a personal injury solicitor, then they can assist with gathering evidence. To learn more about what evidence could support your claim against the council or a local authority, or how one of our solicitors could help with your case, get in touch with our advisors for free today.
You might be wondering how much compensation you could receive if you make a successful accident claim against a council or local authority. Unfortunately, we can’t offer an average payout. This is because all claims are different. However, we can provide further information on what a payout could consist of, and how they are calculated.
There are two heads of compensation you could receive if you successfully claim against the council. The first is general damages, which covers your mental and physical injuries, as well as the way they affect you going forwards.
When solicitors calculate this head of claim, they may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG is documentation that provides guideline compensation brackets for a number of different injuries. You can see some examples of these brackets illustrated below, but please note that these are not guaranteed amounts. Also note that the first row uses an estimated figure that is not based on the JCG.
| Injury Type | Severity | Compensation Bracket | Injury Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries + Special Damages | Severe | Up to £500,000+ | Severe injuries combined with substantial financial losses, which could include the cost of mobility aids, home adjustments, and lost earnings. |
| Moderately Severe Brain Damage | (b) | £267,340 to £344,150 | There is a severe physical or cognitive disability, with dependence on others and a need for full-time care. |
| Psychiatric Damage Generally | Severe | £66,920 to £141,240 | Marked problems have contributed to the injured person struggling to cope with education, work and life. As such, the prognosis will be very poor. |
| Hand | Serious | £35,390 to £75,550 | Injuries like this reduce the hand to around fifty per cent capacity. |
| Wrist | (b) | £29,900 to £47,810 | Injury causing permanent and significant disability where movement of a useful nature still remains. |
| Back | Moderate (i) | £33,880 to £47,320 | There are various injuries included in this bracket such as a crush or compression lumbar vertebrae fracture leading to a substantial osteoarthritis risk alongside other issues. |
| Elbow | Less Severe | £19,100 to £39,070 | Injuries cause functional impairment. However, major surgery is not required. |
| Pelvis and Hips | Moderate (ii) | £15,370 to £32,450 | Injuries like this usually involve some sort of surgery, such as hip replacement. |
After successfully suing the council for negligence, your settlement may also include special damages. This head of claim refers to the financial losses you experience as a result of your injuries. For example, this head of claim may cover costs relating to:
- Travel
- Housekeeping
- Counselling
- Prescriptions
- Childcare
- Lost earnings
However, if you want to claim special damages, you will need evidence to show your accrued costs. This is why you should keep hold of any invoices, receipts or bills that could be relevant.
If the council has breached the duty of care they owed you causing you to sustain harm, you could sue the council for negligence. For example, the council may have failed to maintain the safety of the roads in their jurisdiction leaving unmaintained potholes. As a result, you may have sustained a severe head injury in a car accident.
When claiming against the council, you will have three years to pursue your claim as per the Limitation Act 1980. The three years may start from the date of your accident or the date that you became aware that the council’s negligence caused or contributed to the harm you sustained. However, there are exceptions so call our team to find out more.
To prove compensation claims against local councils, you can gather evidence to help strengthen your case. This evidence can include things like CCTV footage, witness contact details, and photographs of the injury. For example, if you are suing the council for uneven pavement, you could request CCTV footage of the accident, and take photographs of the uneven pavement.
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Our solicitors offer their services under a kind of No Win No Fee arrangement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). When you enter into this kind of agreement, you aren’t required to pay any upfront fees in order for your solicitor to begin work on your case. Furthermore, you do not need to pay them for their services if your claim fails.
If your claim succeeds, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from your compensation award. This fee is a small percentage which is legally capped.
To find out if you could be eligible to work with one of our solicitors, or to learn more about compensation claims against local councils, contact us today
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