Trip claims cost Councils 82m

Councils in England have paid out more than £82m in compensation over the past five years to people who have tripped on pavements.

 

The information was obtained when 92 Local Authorities responded to a Freedom of Information request made by the Liberal Democrats.

 

Leeds City Council paid out £10.2m between 2004 and 2009.  It was followed by Birmingham at £7.5m and Liverpool at £5.5m. Stockport paid out £3.9m and Southampton paid £2.9m.  

 

The average compensation payment across the 92 councils who responded to the survey was £833,269 over five years.

 

Diane Massey of DSM Legal said: "Highway tripping accidents caused by dangerous defects can result in very serious injury.  Although the number of claims has gone down in recent years as Councils continue to invest in inspection and maintenance programmes, regrettably there are still far too many people injured every day on our streets as a result of defective roads and pavements.

 

Legal aid is essentially no longer available to bring these claims, but fortunately there are still some solicitors who will act for people on a no win no fee basis to obtain compensation for them.

 

The important thing is to obtain legal advice as soon as possible.  Any delay in seeing a solicitor may very well prejudice the chances of bringing a successful claim.”