Personal Injury Claims gone mad ?

We picked up a recent story in the local press for Dudley in the West Midlands which perhaps indicates what’s wrong with the compensation claims market.

As with any aspect of society, business or life generally, there are good and bad, and the snippet which follows perhaps simply shows the reasons why legitimate claims and hardworking personal injury solicitors who are skilled at what they do get a bad press unfairly.

Anyway, Dudley Council, like all councils, receives a large number of claims each year, and the article in the local paper suggested that this council had received over 800 claims in the last 3 years which would have amounted to over £4 million in damages had they all been paid out. In the event nearly 500 of the claims were rejected and damages of some £500,000.00 paid out. This sum is modest compared to many other councils.

Most personal injury claims against Local Authorities arise from accidents on the public highways, including pavements, due to uneven surfaces and potholes. With weather conditions becoming more changeable and budgets cut, this problem becomes an ever more uphill battle for the Council. Many try their best, some are not so good, not even urgently repairing clearly dangerous reported hazards when reported.

These types of claims against the council for tripping and slipping often turn on the size of any pavement discrepancies and also how regularly the council can prove that it’s Highway Inspectors inspected the road in question and what the last inspection showed.