How to claim injury compensation against the council

By Ian Morris | Updated June 12th, 2024

186 questions have been answered on this subject - ask us your question

Councils and local authorities have a legal obligation to guarantee the safety of the public when using pavements, roads, and other properties under their care. Despite this, injuries occur annually due to issues like loose paving stones or potholes. If you intend to sue the council and claim compensation, you will need to establish that your injury resulted from the council’s negligence.

Although council liability can be a hard thing to prove, it can be done, and below we’ll guide you through how to claim against the council and what to do after injuring yourself in public.

Is it easy to claim against the council?

Claiming personal injury compensation against the council isn’t easy. Mainly due to precedents set by the courts – over time this has made defending such claims fairly simple for local authorities.

When a claim is made against a council, they will often fall back on what’s known as the ‘Section 58 defence’. This essentially means they can provide documentation showing a reasonable system of maintenance and that repairs were made promptly. They may also argue that there have been no previous accidents or complaints.

Because of these barriers to claiming, it is vital to work with a specialist Solicitor who has a proven track record of success in public liability compensation.

What claims can be made against the council?

Claims can be made if the council has failed to uphold its statutory duties and therefore can be held liable for your injuries. For example, if known hazards are left dangerous for too long, usually over 6 months, they can’t fall back on the Section 58 defence.

Slips and trips are the most common accident situations leading to successful compensation claims against the council:

Raised paving stones that stick up by more than 25mm (1 inch), often leading to trips or falls on the pavement.
Potholes that are deeper than 1 inch, making cyclists and motorcyclists especially vulnerable to accidents.

Proving council liability

To prove council liability, claimants must show that the local authority responsible for the site of their accident:

Had known that a hazard was present.
Had reasonable time to inspect that area of road or pavement
Should have repaired the hazard and removed the risk of injury.

Understanding negligence in council inspection duties

In summary, councils have the following duties when it comes to roads and pavements:

To have a system to regularly inspect roads and footpaths for accident risks
To check busier routes more regularly than less used ones
To repair any defects within a reasonable time
To act on any public reports of dangerous surfaces within a reasonable time
To signpost any hazards or dangers to the public

Failing to uphold these responsibilities could leave a council open to being sued by someone injured as a result of their negligence.

Local authority highways departments should (in most cases) inspect every section of their roads and footpaths once every 6 months. An inspector should record the roads and pavements that they have inspected and the local authority should hold a record of this.

A claim will not succeed if the council can prove they inspected the area within the last 6 months and no defect was found.

Exceptions

A council inspection report does not necessarily absolve them of potential negligence. For example, in some cases, the courts have found that the inspection regime of a local authority was inadequate. Although they had checked the pavements, they hadn’t done so thoroughly – perhaps driving by instead of inspecting on-foot – and were therefore liable for the claim that they faced.

How to report your injury to the council

As with all accidents, it is important to report and record your accident correctly. When you report injuries to a local authority, they should give you a report log number and may well send you an incident report form.

If you’ve been injured on a public footpath, you must report to the relevant department of the local authority responsible for the area in which you fell. You should describe the hazard and its location, what injuries you’ve sustained and what medical treatment you have received.

Try to take photographs of the accident site showing the depth or height of the hazard with clear measurements. You could also get the names and contact details of any witnesses, as this will provide further evidence.

Before sending all this in, our best advice is to hire a specialist personal injury solicitor to run your claim, as this will give you the best chance of succeeding.

The evidence you’ll need to make a successful claim

If you can prove council liability and your injuries are severe enough, you will be eligible to claim compensation for them. In order to win, claimants must gather as much evidence as possible to help their solicitor force the council to admit liability.

Evidence of your injuries and of the hazard that caused them are essential. To maximise your chances of success you may also need witness statements, a video or CCTV footage of the incident to prove that the accident happened. What you will then need to do is demonstrate that the incident is consistent with the nature of the injury you are claiming for – which should be possible by way of provision of your medical records. Then if it can also be proved the council failed in their required inspection duties and are therefore liable for your accident, your claim should be successful.

Claiming council injury compensation under No Win, No Fee

No win no fee enables you to make a claim against the council without it costing you anything if the claim fails. They typically include:

A success fee, which is a percentage of the compensation awarded, payable to the solicitor if the case is won.
Insurance policies to cover legal costs in the event the claim is unsuccessful.

The success fee is capped by law, ensuring that the majority of the compensation goes to the claimant.

Our no win, no fee solicitors can claim for the following on your behalf:

The pain and distress caused to you by your injuries
Associated costs and losses (special damages)
Restrictions on your ability to fulfil your usual activities and social life

We understand that it is hard to know if you have a valid injury claim against a council, so why not contact us to discuss your situation or leave a question below? We have years of experience in working on such claims and expert solicitors with a fantastic track record.

By choosing our services, you’ll benefit from:

A free consultation to discuss your case and understand your legal options.
Expert guidance on gathering the necessary evidence and building a strong case.
A no win no fee agreement, ensuring you don’t face any financial risk when pursuing your claim.
Compassionate and personalised support tailored to your unique circumstances.

Let us help you turn a challenging situation into a successful claim, allowing you to focus on what truly matters – your recovery and well-being.

You can start your claim online or , and one of our expert team will be in touch. Alternatively, call us on 01225 430285. We’ll only need a few minutes of your time to let you know if you can make a claim.

186 questions have been answered on this subject - ask us your question

Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming, plus council claim examples...

I tripped on a pothole which caused me to fall, I’ve cut my elbow badly and jarred my shoulder. I was on my way to work to be sent home as my arm’s mobility has been compromised.

Ideally you should obtain clear images with measurements visible prior to reporting the incident to the local authority in order to ensure that you have the appropriate evidence available should you pursue a claim for compensation.

I tipped over a fire hydrant, the streets was dark so didn’t see it in front of me I’ve now broken my wrist in 2 places and fractured my elbow so now in a full cast and struggling to work can I make a claim on this or not ?

If your accident happened because you simply didn’t see the hydrant because it was dark, you would not have a claim. However, if there was lighting in the area, but the lighting was broken or faulty and this caused you not to see the hydrant and sustain injury, pursuit of a claim for personal injury compensation is a valid and just course of action.

my daughter fell today on the damaged kerb not fixed by the council we had to take to the hospital for treatment this should have been fixed by the council long time ago ca we sue the council for the damages

Please forward photographs of the damaged curb/pavement to us at justice@direct2compensation.co.uk in order that we can review the accident site. We have specialist in such claims and would be very happy to help you.

As I got out of my car I twisted my ankle on the uneven road which led to a lot of pain and bruising. I thought I had sprained the ankle, but a few days later the pain got worse so I phoned the Doctors.

The Doctors told me to go to hospital where they x-rayed my ankle and foot and confirmed that I had broken a bone in my foot.

To make a claim in this circumstance, we’ll need photographic evidence of the accident site to demonstrate that the disrepair and condition of the road can be seen as negligent.

Please forward photographs of the accident site to us at justice@direct2compensation.co.uk so that we can further review this advise you appropriately.

I fell on uneven pavement. I suffered severe bruising to my leg. Also I have now got some fluid on the outside of my knee.

In order for us to advise further as to the potential to pursue a claim for personal injury compensation, we first need to review some initial photographs of the accident site. If you could forward some to us showing the disrepair that caused you to fall (a couple of close up images – ideally with a measurement visible and a couple from further back) via email, we can confirm whether or not you can make a claim. You can forward the photographs to us at justice@direct2compensation.co.uk – just ensure that you add your contact number and we can then call you.

If you need any assistance or simply wish to discuss the potential claim, please call us on 01225430285.

In August 2021, I tripped over a rainwater gulley where the cover was missing. This caused a fracture to the wrist of which I still have a large amount of pain and recently received a steroid injection to help subdue the pain in the wrist. Through a specialist claim handler, I submitted a claim to the local authority in December via the small claims portal, which then dropped out of the portal due to no response. A further 3 months later, the local authority replied claiming a section 58 denial of liability, along with records of an inspection that took place a few weeks before my trip. Having looked at the records provided, it is pretty clear that the inspection did not cover the area of the trip, but noted that the broken drain was repaired as soon as they had received the claim. Reviewing images of this area on Google Earth images, it can be seen that said drain cover has been missing for a number of years. Over the past 9 months I have lost out on income I would normally have earned for overtime. I’ve also been diagnosed with anxiety because of the fall, and have now been informed that if I was to obtain compensation from a third party under my contract of employment, that any sick pay given during that period is treated as a loan to be repaid on receipt of any compensation payment. The claims solicitor handling the claim is seeking advice from a senior partner and states they may have to take advice of a barrister in how to proceed. I just wondered whether you might have an insight into the process based on your past experience, especially with the amounts due to loss being in excess of the fast track claims amount.

With regards to the payment issue and any amount being recovered by the employer, don’t worry – if you do succeed with your claim and any lost income/overtime pay is recovered, you should not be left out of pocket if you succeed with your claim.

The section 58 defence is raised in almost all claims arising from ‘tripping accidents’ or pavement disrepair matters. Sadly, it is all too easy for a local authority highways department to squirm out of admitting liability in such cases. However, it would appear that you have some useful evidence that could be used to demonstrate that the local authority inspection referenced in their defence was inadequate and that they had failed to undertake proper inspections or act on the fact that the drain cover was missing for many years – as shown in your google maps research. One would anticipate that a Barrister may see this as reasonable and viable route against which to contest the defence and continue pursuit of your claim for personal injury compensation.

I live in a 1 level flat with about 18 stairs to my flat. The concrete stairs were badly cracked and a stair gave way when I walked down them (I already have a bad back). I contacted council and told them about this and they said they would send someone out as an emergency to repair the problem. The repairs took 2 weeks to fix with cement.

I have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s which the council know about. Once again the stairs have collapsed and I fell. This was reported and they came the next day patched up the damage. However, there are still cracks in the stairs & I’m too worried to walk down stairs now.

Given that the council know of the issue with the stairs, you appear to be in a position to pursue a claim for personal injury compensation for any exacerbation of your pre-existing back pain along with any new injuries sustained in the falls that you have had on the stairs due to the cracks.

Hi
I claimed to the council about the fall I had on the 20/03/2022 in the afternoon what happened was I was walking my dog and he was on the pavement and I was on the road a bit but there was no cars at the time if there was I usually go onto the pavement quick I didn’t see the pothole that was there and it’s getting big now not been fixed by the looks of it and I tripped over that pothole and landed on the pavement where I sprained my foot and fractured my elbow the top bit of my elbow and it’s been sore since it happened I find it hard to lift things like carry messages find it hard to out clothes on aswell it’s been nearly round 6/7 weeks this has happened and the council said that they aren’t giving me anything as compensation as they did the potholes up from where I fell but I can tell you this the pothole is still there and it’s getting big

Do you have any photographs of the pothole? We can then review this matter and advise you regarding any potential to pursue your claim against the local authority.

I have just been notified by the council that they have declined my claim saying they were not at fault. Can I still put forward a claim with yourselves?

We can certainly review this for you and consider whether there is any merit in further pursuit of this claim. If you have photographs of the cause of your accident, please forward them to us at justice@direct2compensation.co.uk so that we can advise you further.

I was taking my granddaughter, 11, to my daughters at roughly 10pm on 10.04.22 . In the process I tripped on a risen pavement slab resulting in a undisplaced, transverse fracture in the right patella. This means I will be unable to mobilise independently for 6 weeks+. I am also wearing an extension splint daily to keep my knee in place.

Can you get some initial photographs of the raised slab that caused you to fall? If so, please email them to us at justice@direct2compensation.co.uk along with your name and contact number. We will then review the accident site and call you to further discuss your situation and any potential to claim personal injury compensation for the pain caused by your injury and the obvious impact that such an injury will have on your mobility and independence for the coming months.

If you can obtain photographs, please try and get a few close up images – ideally showing a measurement of the height of the edge of the slab, along with a couple of images from further back showing the area in general.

I badly twisted and sprained my ankle in a hole in the pavement. I thought I could initially walk off the pain but it was swelling so I iced and elevated. Had an x ray at A&E as in extreme pain later in eve and couldn’t walk. It was a bad sprain. Spent 2.5 weeks struggling to get movement back, resting, icing. Filled in an online claim and heard back from council. They not seen photos of my injuries and saying they investigating and I won’t hear for 3 months! My partner took photo of hole in pavement later that night and a week later when it was repaired!
How go they investigate if they don’t speak to me? Should I get legal help?

It won’t surprise you to hear that we would always recommend that you are represented by a specialist personal injury Solicitor when making a claim for compensation – especially in matters such as tripping accident claims. Local authorities are notoriously difficult to engage with in such claims and they are likely to claim that the defect was not in situ for very long or that it wasn’t identified by their inspector as in need of repair when they last inspected the area.

My 75 year old mum was walking through a busy town centre market. She tripped over a ladder sticking out of a stall’s merchandise, which was placed flat horizontally on the floor, and broke her nose/black eyes/severe bruising etc. She was treated in A&E as advised by shopping centre first aider and is recovering at home. The market supervisor attended and was aware of the situation, no photo was taken as they immediately moved the ladder. He said ‘it is a grey area, the ladder was within the spread of the stall but people always walk through that part’ or words to that effect. I am now waiting to speak to the Markets Manager next week. In my view it was an accident waiting to happen and has been awful for my mum, and no apology or explanation has been given so I am furious. Is it something which is worth pursuing to hold them to account so this doesn’t happen again? Any advice is appreciated. Thank you JH.

It would not appear to be a grey area – the ladder was allowed to protrude in to a pedestrian/shopping walkway within a market area and we would argue that this was negligent and a clear and obvious risk of causing an accident.

The key issue is to make sure that you get the details of the fall and the position of the ladder recorded in writing with the relevant market manager. If an accident book or incident log wasn’t completed at the time of the fall, we suggest drawing a diagram of the accident site showing the position of the ladder and sending the same to the markets manager with a written report stating what happened, where and when in order to ensure that a report is made.

Should your Mother wish to take this further, we would like our Solicitors to assess this matter in detail for her.

My wife tripped on a path that is on a new estate and lost her footing falling into another damaged part. Now almost 24hrs after the fall, she has had to go to the Hospital (due to being in pain all night) for x-rays and to see what injuries she has suffered. Can you help her?

We can certainly help! As this is a tripping claim enquiry, it is important that we see some photographs of the tripping accident site in order to ascertain whether or not it is likely to be possible to establish that the landowner had been negligent in the way that they have left the surface in question. Ideally, we need some close up images of the exact cause of her tripping accident (hopefully with a visible tape measure to show the height or depth of the hazard) and a few images from further back showing the general area. Please forward such photographs to us via email to: justice@direct2compensation.co.uk along with your contact number and we can then advice further regarding this matter.

I tripped on a pothole and caused several injuries, however I did not get medical attention as there was a 6 hour wait at A&E due to ambulance shortages. Council are not admitting liability, and said inspection was done on road August 2021. I have a witness to my fall as I was with a friend.

Our specialist Solicitors can review this matter for you and advise as to whether the council’s denial of liability is robust or obstructive. As you have a witness, you do have some support – we do need to see some photographs of the pothole that caused you to fall. Please can you forward these to us with your contact details to: justice@direct2compensation.co.uk

I tripped on a small raised kerb and fractured 2 wrists . The kerb was unseen due to a very large tree casting a shadow that made the road I was crossing onto the pavement look like there was no pavement at all !! I sent all details with detailed photographs medical reports etc to my local council . These were passed from tree and vegetation department then onto lighting where I was advised it been fixed. I am aware that council are not liable for lighting but I was trying to make them aware that it was the shadow from the tree causing my accident . I have just been informed that my compensation claim is unsuccessful due to council not liable for lighting . I was claiming for accident caused by tree and not lighting .. my emails to them re this have been completely misunderstood . Can I appeal against their decision on a no win no fee basis ?

Your frustration is completely understandable, but sadly, the shadow caused by the tree is somewhat of a red-herring in this matter and would not enable you to succeed with a claim for compensation. In such circumstances, you would only be able to succeed with a claim if there was disrepair or damage to the curb that caused you to trip and fall. As you have simply not seen the raised edge due to the shadow of the tree and not because of pavement damage, it is sadly the case that there is no negligent party against whom you can make a claim.

I fell down a hole on 30.5.21 on a grass area adjacent to a road. The council maintain this grass area. The hole was 10″ deep and 12″ wide and was covered by long grass. I broke a bone in my ankle and tore ligaments. I’m still attending hospital and if not any better soon i may have to have an operation to correct this. After reporting this to this council and getting the hole filled in the council put me in touch with their solicitors. This week I have received an email saying that the council are denying liability as i was the first person to report the hazard and as such will make no offer of compensation. What is your advice please

Local authorities rely on two methods of identifying hazards or areas of disrepair which include their highways officers undertaking inspections of footpaths and roads and on reports from members of the public or utility companies as to an area that looks like attention is needed.

In your case, a highways officer would not be expected to inspect a grassed area as they would be monitoring the highways and footpaths. As such, if the local authority can demonstrate that they have not been previously made aware of the hole that caused your injury, the courts would be very unlikely to find against them as they have not been negligent.

My wife tripped /slipped on a pathway to her sisters house ,she tried to make a claim due to the state of the path (which was repaired very quickly after the incident)
But the council have turned it down due to the fact the state of the path was not reported before the incident.
She ended up with a broken wrist that required a operation and a plate put in.
Has she a claim?

Local authorities rely on annual inspections of their pathways and roads by highways inspectors and also on reports of defects by members of the public. With this in mind, if no person has reported a disrepair or area of danger in the period since the previous highways inspection (if the highways inspection found no area in need of repair), the local authority will not admit liability and the courts will be unlikely to find against them.

In the case of your wife, we need to consider whether the area in question had been in disrepair for more than a year prior to her accident and whether we can therefore argue that if they did carry out an inspection, it was inadequate.

If you have photographs of the accident site, please email them to us at justice@direct2compensation.co.uk along with the name of the accident site (road name and house number is helpful) and a contact number. We can then review this and advise whether there is any prospect of pursuing the matter further.

I have fallen down a pothole in my road, cut my knee, badly sprained my ankle (I heard it crack and and grazed my fingers when I fell into the pothole. The pothole is large and spreading across the road. I have complained about the number and depth of the potholes to the local Councillor and reported them to the Council via their website on several occasions (approximately 3 to 4 times) over the past 3 to 4 years. The road has not been repaired or even inspected in the past 4 years despite the road going past my road being repaired twice in the past two years. The matter has been highlighted at the local Council meeting in the last 12 months, but nothing has been done to repair the road.
There are over 20 potholes in the road, the one I fell down was at least 6 to 10 inches deep. The potholes are so big and wide we have to drive our cars through them as it is impossible to avoid them.

You appear to have a valid claim for tripping accident compensation. As you have reported the areas of disrepair over a period of 3 or 4 years, the local authority cannot claim that they had not received reports of issues from the public.

We now need to see some photographs of the potholes, particularly the one that has caused you to suffer injury in order to confirm that they (as they appear to do) meet the required criteria needed to pursue a claim for tripping accident compensation. Please forward such images to us at justice@direct2compensation.co.uk along with your contact number and we’ll then be able to advise you further.

There is a lump of concrete that is sticking up and I fell as my foot caught the sticking up concrete. I have pictures the council have declined the liability but also agrees that the pavement is not great. I work part time and I am a single mum.

Did you have any specialist legal representation when you discussed your accident with the local authority? If not, contact us as having a specialist in place to ensure that your rights are upheld and that the local authority would have to provide evidence to support any denial of liability may see you succeed with a claim.

The best course of action would be for you to send the photographs of the concrete lump to us along with a brief description of the accident and your contact number to: justice@direct2compensation.co.uk so that we can review this and advise you further.

My wife tripped up over a very uneven flagstone in ( more than 25mm depth) she sustained a blooded and cut lip, bruising to her arms and hands and took herself off to the local A&E for treatment. I took up the claim with the council responsible( Barnet) and they consequently repaired the flagstone . Their insurers deny all responsibility as they state that the pavement was examined on 23rd March this year and no significant defect was found, they also sent me a copy of the report of that date, my wifes fall was on July 28th, from the photographs of the flagstone it is quiet plain to see that it had been uneven for some considerable time and that there engineers have missed this flagstone.. To be brief do you think I have any redress with the council for my wife’s injuries ? Thanks in anticipation of your kind assistance

As the defendants are claiming that they inspected the site 4 months prior to the incident in which your wife was injured and found no defect, the courts would find in their favour – unless we can obtain evidence to demonstrate that the defect was in situ and their inspection was inadequate (or did not happen). There are ways of doing this and we may well be able to assist.

Have you tried looking at the site on ‘streetview’ online? If you locate the area, you can often go back to an older page image and see if the defect was present in the year or years prior to the incident. Our Solicitors have successfully overturned denials using this method. You may also wish to speak to local residents or shop keepers in the area around the accident site. If any of those individuals are willing to state that they had been aware of the hazard in question (or ideally reported it) in the months before your wife’s accident, it may also help to overturn the defence raised.