At a time when the rights of people injured by falls on broken paving surfaces are under more scrutiny than ever, isn’t it ironic that the number of tripping hazards and areas of disrepair on our pavements and footpaths is increasing massively?
Due to his expertise within personal injury and leading knowledge on the rights that someone injured as a result of a fall in a pothole or due to pavement disrepair to make a claim, our very own Ian Morris was recently approached by Journalist David Spereall of the Yorkshire Evening Post, to give comment on personal injury claims, specifically tripping accidents and the costs incurred by one local Authority – Leeds City Council in such matters. David was covering a story regarding news that Leeds City Council had spent £1.5 million (an average of more than £30k weekly) on tripping accident claims in one year and questioned whether the compensation culture was fuelling such claims. David discovered Ian’s profile & reputation within Personal Injury Compensation when reading our article in which we say that the compensation culture is a myth (which it is!).
Whilst it is obvious that local government funding has been reduced on an unprecedented scale in the past 10 years, the sad fact is that if local governments could properly fund decent repair work and the maintenance of the footpaths and pavements in and around the housing areas and shopping high streets of our country, the need for local governments to have to finance compensation settlements for those injured due to trips and falls on dangerous and broken pavement surfaces would not be an issue.
Although the figure faced by Leeds City Council is £30k weekly, we know that all other local authorities throughout the UK will be facing similar or even greater weekly costs as a result of the substandard condition and disrepair of our highways and footpaths. Despite this, those of us working in the personal injury compensation sector know just how hard (and it’s getting harder) it is for claimants to succeed with a tripping accident claim against the council.
Essentially, court rulings on cases brought by Solicitors acting for tripping accident claimants have made it extremely easy for a local authority to defend a claim and at the same time left claimants struggling to prove that a local authority have been negligent – even when it would seem obvious that such negligence has been at play. With this in mind, many personal injury Solicitors have now taken the decision not to pursue tripping accident claims, even where clear photographic evidence of a disrepaired and dangerous pavement surface that meets the various criteria needed to proceed are available.
Fortunately, Direct2Compensation and the specialist Solicitors with whom we work have genuine expertise in ensuring that tripping accident victims have the best chance of having their claim pursued with a good chance of succeeding. If you have been injured after a trip or a fall in a pothole, an uneven pavement surface or pavement disrepair, there are some important things that you should do before you report the accident to the local authority, such as taking clear photographs of the accident site – including some close up images of the tripping hazard with measurements visible (as soon as a tripping accident is reported, it gives the local authority a chance to make urgent repairs and therefore remove evidence of the hazard) and of course, seek medical attention. You can contact us for advice after a tripping accident as we know your rights and our No Win No Fee service gives you the chance to seek justice without needing to worry about the potential costs of the process.
Read Ian’s comments in the Yorkshire Evening Post article here: https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/politics/council/leeds-city-council-pays-out-more-than-ps15m-in-compensation-in-one-year-3770937
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