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...

my wife has received a head injury whilst walking along a pavement and tripping over a raised water meter cover on a small newly built housing estate. Most of the houses are occupied and the pavement was opened up for public use8/9 months ago possibly longer. It is too soon to say what the long term affect will be on her health but being in her mid 70,s it could have longer term repercussions so I feel she needs to consider all her options when she feels sufficiently recovered. I have taken plenty of photographs with a 50p coin to guage size of hazard and intend advising the developer and local authority but don`t hold out much hope as local residents have been complaining to the planning officer for months saying the state of the pavements are an accident waiting to happen and the developer is very cavalier in his attitude. The pavement is a route for children walking to the village school and this played a part in granting planning permission for the site, It seems to me both developer and planning/building control have been negligent one for giving public access for something not fit for purpose the other for not using their enforcement powers when public safety is being put at risk. Does my wife have a winnable case?

As you can imagine, at this stage we can’t say for certain that your wife has a winnable claim for tripping accident compensation. However, I can say that on the basis of your initial description of the incident and cause of your wife’s injury, it would seem that she has a valid claim for tripping accident compensation that warrants further investigation as the relevant ‘boxes’ appear to have been ticked in that there is a tripping hazard protruding from the pavement surface that has been in situ for many months (if not longer).

We would need to see the photographs of the ‘hazard’ and discuss the situation in more detail to give a more qualified view, but our initial view is positive. We would like to help further with this as and when your wife feels able to do so. At that time, please either call us on 01225430285.

Whilst it is always wise to avoid delays in making a claim, your wife does have 3 years from the date of her accident in which she can make a claim.

I’ve slipped on a council path which had paint spilled all over it. The paint has been there ages but when it is wet it’s like ice. As a result of the slippery surface, I have broken my ankle and the tibia/fibula.

As stated in our slipping accident claims 5 top tips You should obtain photographic evidence of the accident site that caused you to slip and suffer such a nasty injury and then report your injuries and the accident location to the relevant local authority.

In order to succeed with a claim for compensation, it will have to be demonstrated that the local authority highways department have been negligent and allowed a hazard to remain on the pavement surface for an excessive period of time. To that end, it would be wise to speak to local people to see if anyone is willing to act as a hazard witness in support of any claim you may attempt to make. A hazard witness isn’t someone who has seen an accident, but someone who can verify that a defect or hazard has been in situ for a specific amount of time. Perhaps someone living near this path could state that it has been there for 6 months, a year or even longer. Such evidence would greatly help any claim that were to follow.

Whilst your accident scenario is unusual, we think it is worth looking a little further in to this with a view to making a claim for compensation.

I had a fall on a pavement that was badly cracked and sticking up and hurt my knee. I made a claim against the council and they said they were not liable because they had a regular inspection. However, the inspection forms they sent me made no reference to the area in question. I have sent details to Thompson and Slater Gordon who say they can’t act but do not say why. Since the fall the pavement area in question was repaired within a couple of weeks and is now smooth tarmac but the same pavement has several more areas that required repair (approximately 10 or more separate areas that were highlighted in yellow paint) which were all highlighted at the same time and would not have all come up for repair at the same time, therefore regular inspections cannot happen. There are still blocks sticking up in the same area that I fell that have had nothing done to them and they have been like this since my fall over 2 years ago! I have had to have physio and attend hospital for my knee since the accident and still have a lump on the knee that the specialist says will always be there as it was caused by the trauma. This means that I no longer feel comfortable wearing skirts. Do you think I should be able to claim against the council?

The courts have previously found that it is unreasonable to expect a local authority to ensure that there are no hazards whatsoever on their footpaths. Therefore, they have ruled that as long as a local authority have a reasonable inspection regime in place that involves checking and identifying actionable defects for repair they will not be liable should someone have an accident.

The only way that you are likely to succeed now – given that the claim has already failed – is to be able to demonstrate that the inspection carried out was not sufficient or that it was inadequate. Do you know if the inspection of the area where you fell was done on foot or via a drive-by inspection?

From the lengthy report they sent to demonstrate their ‘on foot’ inspection there was nothing to indicate that this area had been inspected at all. I asked them where it was and they indicated a page that was not the correct area and in fact was at the other end of the road. As i said they had about 10 different areas they marked up for repair at the same time all along the road!

I had an accident at work while working for a local government authority. They have admitted liability, my solicitor has sent them compensation details but they have not been back in touch. She extended the deadline because apparently the case worker has left and it was handed over to somebody else. But I still have no offer and there is only a few days left until the deadline. Can anybody advise me in what is going on, I don’t really fancy going down the court route are they with holding evidence or just burying their heads.

If the defendant is not responding within the standard time frame, it is usual practice for the claimant Solicitor to offer an extension to the deadline and await response. If the defendant continues to fail to cooperate and respond as per the law, the only option is for a Solicitor to issue proceedings and bring the defendant before a court as the court has the legal authority to force them to disclose information, decide upon a settlement and ensure payment.

I am really devastated that the judge has ruled for 3rd time that I cannot reinstate a personal injury claim of losses worth £500,000.00. I have complex regional pain syndrome as a result of an accident at work and my employer lied that they weren’t insured for my accident. They claimed, they were not covered beyond the boundaries of the building and it has recently transpired by their insurer this is not the case. The insurance company are now stating it is too late to claim, this claim falls outside the Limitation Act. The solicitors did not make any enquires neither and went straight for a public body instead, as the accident happened on the public highway. This has caused problems since the employer would be a private company insurance claim. When the courts look less favourably on public body liability claims. This was the result of a trip accident at work and triggered complex regional pain syndrome a few months after back in August 2015. The solicitors could not see how upset I was by the trauma, pain and discomfort from the accident. I just stated, sign the document to discontinue the claim on my behalf but was not of sound mind at the time. I was just very distraught by the pain being caused. The defendant argued, the accident did not happen in the location specified and got one of the best barristers to defend them as a public body. My solicitors did nothing. Prior I informed my solicitors if the case ever gets difficult to proceed and they back out. I want to take over the case. The solicitors knew of this fact, and I was under the impression a notice of discontinuance just cancels the law firm from acting and I could take over. I can appeal but I have used all my evidence and I can’t see a way forward. No solicitors want the case neither and I am in no position to pay privately due to being in a wheelchair and not being able to work. Is the case over and there is no way forward with an appeal?

This is a very difficult situation and it does seem rather unfair that you have been prohibited from taking it further by the judge given the dishonesty by the defendant/insurers.

The main problem for any Solicitor now is that they cannot offer you a No Win No Fee service due to the risks of obtaining costs or being able to pursue the matter.