Sheffield City Council – How To Sue For Compensation

This article will answer the question ”Could I claim against Sheffield City Council for compensation?” Councils up and down the country offer many different services. In each city, they have several offices and spaces that provide the public with the services they need. Apart of these services is the duty of care they owe to their clients and customers. The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 is very often the legislation that applies this duty of care to service providers. It means that in certain areas they are responsible for the safety of others.

Claim against Sheffield City Council guide

Claim against Sheffield City Council guide

If you live in the city of Sheffield and are caused an injury due to the negligence of Sheffield City Council you may be wondering if it is possible to pursue a claim for compensation. You may be an employee of a council and you have sustained an accident at work? Are you wondering if you can sue your employer? Or maybe you had a road traffic accident caused by a pothole?

In many areas of life, we are owed a duty of care. Duty of care is important as it outlines how people should be kept safe in various environments. This guide will explain the duty of care of a local council in further detail.

Read on to find out more about the eligibility criteria for claims against Sheffield City Council for compensation. Alternatively, get in touch with us today for free legal advice. Our team of advisors can give you straightforward advice on your situation or even connect you with an experienced solicitor from our panel. They could help you make a claim.

Select a Section

  1. Making A Personal Injury Claim Against A Council
  2. Taking Action Against A Council For Data Breach Compensation Claims
  3. How Could I File A Housing Disrepair Claim Against A Local Council?
  4. Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim Against Sheffield City Council?
  5. Making Your Claim Within 3 Years
  6. Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Sheffield City Council
  7. More Resources On Making A Claim Against Sheffield City Council

Making A Personal Injury Claim Against A Council

To hold a valid personal injury claim against Sheffield City Council, the onus would be on you the claimant to prove using evidence that the council through negligent practices caused an injury or harm that could have been avoided. Although it is not compulsory to have a solicitor represent your case they can bring huge amounts of experience and knowledge to ensure your claim is filed correctly. They can also help you build your case and gather the all-important evidence.  This evidence could include:

  • CCTV footage of the accident
  • Medical reports
  • Photographs of the accident and your injuries
  • Witness details (to take a statement at a later date)

Your solicitor can also arrange for you to have a medical appointment to assess the effects and extent of your injuries. The results of this assessment will be used to help value your claim.

Councils are bound by a duty of care outlined by the Occupiers’ Liability Act, 1957. Local councils are considered the controller of many public spaces, such as parks, walkways and gyms. When there are issues in these spaces leading to accidents and harm, those injured may question whether they could make a claim against Sheffield City Council.

For example, you could suffer from a slip, trip or fall accident. You could trip over tree roots that are protruding from the pavement. If a council is aware of these, they are on council land but nothing has been done to rectify the hazard this could potentially mean a compensation claim could be possible.

Potential Personal Injury Compensation Payouts

If personal injury claims and data breach claims are successful then legal representatives will look to the guidelines by the Judicial College to work out a compensation award for physical and mental suffering. This type of compensation is known as general damages in personal injury and non-material damages in data breach claims.. Special damages or material damages is another type of compensation but this head of loss compensates for any financial losses caused.

This table will show bracket amounts for certain types of injuries. These figures are taken from Judicial College guidelines and are calculated from past cases.

InjurySeverityAmount
AnkleModerate£12,900 to £24,950
AnkleSevere£29,380 to £46,980
ElbowLess Severe£14,690 to £30,050
ElbowModerateUp to £11,820
KneeSevere (iii)£24,580 to £40,770
NeckModerate (i)£23,460 to £36,120
Hand(a)£132,040 to £189,110
ToeSerious£9,010 to £12,900
Pelvis & HipModerate (ii)£11,820 to £24,950
ShoulderMinor£4,080 to £7,410

You could also claim special damages as part of your compensation. Special damages cover any financial loss you may have experienced as a result of your injuries. For example, if you had to travel to and from the hospital a lot in taxis, you could be able to claim this expense back. Or, if you had to undergo expensive private treatment, you could cover this too.

You would need to prove that your injuries caused your financial losses. For example, you could provide receipts or payslips.

Taking Action Against A Council For Data Breach Compensation Claims

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) defines a data breach as an accidental or deliberate breach of data security that has led to the possible change, loss, destruction, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data. The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UKGDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 outline how data should be protected. When data is not protected properly, this could cause a data breach.

What could be a data breach claim against Sheffield Council? When your data privacy is breached you may wonder can you make a claim against those to who you supplied this data to? To qualify for data breach compensation again as like personal injury claims you must prove liability. This means establishing that those who should have protected your data failed. You would need to prove that the breach caused you some form of material or non-material harm and that it was caused by positive wrongful conduct. Material harm could include financial loss, and non-material damage could cover any mental health issues resulting from the breach.

Positive wrongful conduct indicates that the incident could have been easily avoided. For example, a data controller – those responsible for keeping personal information they collect safe may fail to update their cyber security. As a result, cybercriminals access personal data because they exploited this vulnerability.

If a data controller has done everything in their power to secure your personal data then should a breach occur you would not be able to make a claim.

The ICO also gathers statistics about reported data breach incidents. According to these statistics, the local government sector reported 215 data security incidents in Q2 2021/22.

How Could I File A Housing Disrepair Claim Against A Local Council?

Who is eligible to make a housing disrepair claim against Sheffield City Council? In recent years many properties for rent that the council had control over have been sold to housing associations. But there are some councils that do still act as social housing landlords. Housing disrepair is when a property falls into conditions that are considered defects or hazards. These can very often mean if not repaired can cause injury or illness to those living at the property.

For example, if you were left without heating for an extended period of time, this could potentially lead to serious issues such as hypothermia.

Landlords and tenants rights are provided under the Housing Act 1988.

Filing a housing disrepair claim can often be complicated so we always advise having a solicitor who specialises in this area of civil law support your case. Why not call our advisors today. They can assess any housing disrepair case you have and tell you if they think you have a valid claim. They can do all this in a no-obligation consultation that is free of charge.

Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim Against Sheffield City Council?

When you are facing financial losses because of an injury or illness caused by a party that had a responsibility to keep you as safe as possible the last thing you are thinking about is paying solicitor fees. But did you know that you could fund the services of a solicitor with a No Win No Fee agreement such as a Conditional Fee Agreement?

No Win No Fee agreements can be an appealing way to fund the services of a personal injury solicitor, as it means you will not be asked for any upfront or ongoing payments to your solicitor. In fact, if your claim is unsuccessful, you will not be required to pay anything at all to your solicitor for their services.

If your claim does succeed, your solicitor will deduct a pre-discussed success fee from your compensation amount once it is fully paid. This fee is legally capped, meaning you are likely to keep the majority of the compensation you’re awarded.

Making Your Claim Within 3 Years

Under the Limitation Act 1980, there are time limitations on when you could start a claim, and these differ according to what kind of claim you’re looking to start.

For personal injury claims, you are generally required to start your claim within 3 years of the accident or from the date you became aware of your injuries. However, there are a few exceptions to consider.

  • Minors – A litigation friend (an adult with the claimant’s best interests at heart) can start a claim on their behalf up until they turn 18. Once the claimant is 18, they then have 3 years to start a claim for themselves.
  • Diminished mental capacity – A litigation friend can start a claim on their behalf any time up until they can be considered to have made a full mental recovery. Once a recovery has been made, they then have the usual 3 years.

The time limitation for data breach claims differs in that you have up to 1 year to start a claim against a public body, such as a local council. Alternatively, to claim against a non-public body, the time limit is up to 6 years. Similarly, you have up to 6 years to make a housing disrepair claim as well.

For more information on how time limitations can apply to you, get in touch with us today.

Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Sheffield City Council

Should you want to make a claim against Sheffield City Council, get in touch with our team of advisors today. They can offer free legal advice or even connect you with someone from our panel of experienced solicitors. Our panel of solicitors can help you.

Get in touch with us today for more information about making a claim.

More Resources On Making A Claim Against Sheffield City Council

Thank you for reading our guide. We hope it answered any questions you may have had. Please see below for more relevant resources.

Can Damp and Mould Affect My Health? – An NHS article explaining the health effects of damp and mould in more detail.

Shelter – A charity aiming to help people struggling with housing issues.

Information Commissioner’s Office – The about page for the ICO.

Guides On How To Sue The Local Council

Should you need more information on a claim against Sheffield City Council please call our advisors today.