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Accidents on Defective Pavements

If you or a member of your family is suffering from a personal injury caused by an accident on a public pavement, our specialist personal injury lawyers may be able to help you claim compensation. Contact us today on 0800 032 8511 for accident claim advice, or by completing a claim enquiry form.

Injuries Caused by Defective Pavements

Who Can Be Held Responsible for My Accident on the Pavement?
Claiming Compensation for a Tripping Accident
The Claims Process
Compensation
Our Personal Injury Lawyers

Injuries Caused by Defective Pavements

If you are injured as the result of an accident on a public pavement, path or road and believe that it occurred due to the negligence of the local authority, you may be entitled to claim compensation.

This could be due to damaged or broken tarmac, uneven paving stones, potholes on the pavement or a raised tripping hazard for example. The local highways authority has a responsibility to the public to maintain the pavements to a satisfactory standard.  If they do not ensure that the pavement is as safe as can reasonably be expected, they may be considered negligent.

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Who Can Be Held Responsible for My Accident on the Pavement?

In order to make a successful public liability claim in respect of an accident on a public pavement, it is necessary to show that the authority responsible for the public property was to blame (in law was negligent) so, for example, it must be proven that the pavement was in a dangerous condition, that a tripping hazard was protruding by an inch or more from the ground, or a pothole was an inch or more deep and, as such, an accident was reasonably foreseeable.

Local authorities should have in place a suitable system of regular inspection and subsequent repair of any defects in the pavement or road. If this is not the case or a system has not been followed, anyone who suffers a personal injury as a result should have good grounds for a claim.

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Claiming Compensation for a Tripping Accident

If you are unfortunate enough to have an accident on public property, you should try to record as much information as possible, including details of any witnesses.

In public liability cases, photographs of the defect that caused a trip or fall are also very important. These should show the problem clearly and, if at all possible, should show an exact measurement of it’s height/depth. You should also keep details of any medical treatment and receipts for any injury related expenses that you may incur.

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The Claims Process

Making a personal injury claim for an accident on a defective pavement can be complicated and so is best handled by an expert injury solicitor. You should always seek legal advice as soon as possible.

In every case, medical evidence will be required, and it is necessary to show that the person you are making a claim against owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care (were negligent), and that the injury you sustained was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of that negligence. Your solicitor can co-ordinate your claim and help you to compile all of the relevant information.

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Compensation

There are two elements to a compensation award.

The first, called general damages, is for the pain and suffering you may have gone through and any loss of amenity (perhaps an inability to wash your car, look after your garden, walk the dog). The award for loss of amenity can be for a short period after an accident or for ever if that is what the medical evidence supports.

Whereas the first element of compensation cannot make you better and can only really apologise, the second element of a compensation award, for your losses and expenses,
is known as special damages and aims to put you back in a position financially as if the accident had never occurred. It is important to keep receipts for any expenditure you have related to the accident so that these can be reclaimed.

In serious cases, where a person may no longer be able to continue their employment, this can be taken into account. Costs for care, equipment, transport and housing modifications can also be factored into the calculations. If the person is still able to work but not in the same role as before, particularly if they held a public service role such as a doctor or police officer, an extra amount may be awarded for loss of ‘congenial employment’. A court can also make a financial award to recognise that an injured worker's prospects on the open labour market may be limited.

If a person is fatally injured, a dependent relative such as a widow and children may be able to claim a statutory sum for their bereavement and funeral expenses, but also sums for the loss of income and contribution to the household in the form of future losses.

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Our Personal Injury Lawyers

The Legal Line lawyers are experts in all areas of personal injury, with extensive experience in recovering compensation for the victims of accidents on public pavements, including the following case reported in our news section:

Accident Compensation for Personal Injury Caused by Cardiff City Council

Personal Injury Claim for Accident Caused by Pigeon Droppings (also reported by icSouth London, follow the link to read their article)

Pedestrian Suffers Injuries in Fall Caused by Defective Kerb Stone

Pedestrian Awarded Compensation for Fractured Ankle Caused by Fall

Also read details of tripping accidents that happened on defective pavements:

• Our client suffered facial injuries as a result of a tripping accident whilst out walking during the Summer of 2006. A paving stone, which was cracked, broken and proud of the surrounding stones by almost an inch, caused her to trip and fall. The fall resulted in her sustaining broken teeth / dentures and glasses. She further suffered an injury above her eyebrow which has left a permanent scar so she came to us to seek personal injury claim advice to determine if she was able to make an injury claim against the council.
  
  Although the height of the defect was slightly below the usual benchmark ruling of 25mm (1 inch) for determining whether there can be a public liability claim for this type of street accident, the defect had been recorded some 2 years prior to our client’s accident. The defect had been recommended for repair, but no work had been carried out.
  
  Liability was firmly denied by the highways authority. However, our specialist street accident solicitors argued that the recording of the defect as a hazard was evidence that the highway authority themselves recognised that the paving stone was dangerous and therefore they should have repaired it. When no settlement offers were made we brought a public liability claim and issued court proceedings. Within a very short period the highway authority offered to settle the claim and we were able to recover £1,250 for our client as compensation for her accident on a defective pavement.
• Our client suffered an accident on a public pavement when she caught her foot on a raised manhole outside an old people’s home. This caused her to trip and she fell to the ground, resulting in her suffering a fractured wrist.

  She required assistance with travel and making meals during her recovery and, in addition to the pain and inconvenience from the injury, also incurred personal costs for transport and treatment.

  Our lawyers assisted the claimant in recovering £2,500.00 compensation in respect of this personal injury.

• As he and his wife were about to cross the road, our client stepped into a pothole in the pavement and felt his foot and ankle roll underneath him. He was able to regain his balance without falling over completely but he immediately felt severe pain.

  When he visited hospital shortly after his tripping accident, the claimant was told that his foot was fractured and it was put into a plaster cast. Unfortunately, because of his injury a blood clot also developed and this travelled to his heart and lung. Our client had to be hospitalised for over a week and he required ongoing medication and assistance at home for some time during his recovery, during which he was unable to attend work.

  The claimant’s personal injury was caused by the local Council’s failure to adequately inspect and maintain the area and repair the defective pavement. Our lawyers assisted him in making a compensation claim and recovered £11,625 in damages on his behalf.

• At the time of his accident, our client was walking along a pavement on his way to buy some fish and chips. One of the paving stones had become worn so that there was a gap between it and the adjacent stone and also a height difference. He tripped and fell, sustaining injuries as a result.

  The local authority had actually carried out an inspection of the area just nine days previously, however this was only by car and due to the slope of the road they would not have been able to see the defect.

  Although the height difference between the two stones was not especially great, photographic evidence was provided which showed that the defect was quite obviously hazardous and had been missed. The Judge accepted this and our client was awarded compensation.

Our personal injury lawyers can provide specialist claim advice, assistance and guidance in helping you to pursue your claim to the best possible outcome.

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