Sandwell Borough Council – How To Sue For Compensation

This guide has been put together to examine what is meant by a claim against Sandwell Borough Council. Local authorities owe those who use their services a duty of care. This is established through the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. Those who are responsible for public areas that can be used by the public for the intended purpose owe a duty of care to keep these areas safe for the public to use them. Councils, amongst other areas, are responsible for a lot of spaces used by the public. It is their responsibility to ensure these spaces are safe and hazardous free as much as is reasonably practical.

A claim against the council can be made for a number of reasons. The main three that are focused on in this article are:

We’ll explain these three areas in more detail over the course of this guide.

Claim against Sandwell Borough Council

Claim against Sandwell Borough Council guide

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We are here to help. To have the potential validity of your claim checked for free call our advisors. If it’s determined that you could be owed compensation, then we may connect you with one of the expert solicitors on our panel. Read on for more information. Below, you’ll also find out contact details.

  • Call us on 0800 408 7827
  • You can contact us through our website and request a callback
  • Use the live chat window in the bottom right-hand corner

Select a Section

  1. Introducing Our Guide On Claims For Personal injuries Against A Local Council
  2. Claiming Compensation For A Data Breach From A Local Council
  3. Claims For Local Council Housing Disrepair 
  4. Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim Against Sandwell Borough Council?
  5. What Is My Window In Which To Make A Claim?
  6. Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Sandwell Borough Council
  7. More Resources On Making A Potential Claim Against Sandwell Borough Council

Introducing Our Guide On Claims For Personal Injuries Against A Local Council 

In order to make a successful claim against a local authority, your circumstances must meet certain criteria. So, for you to be eligible for compensation, you’ll need to:

  • Establish that there was a duty of care – the council can be responsible for the safety of a number of public areas such as libraries and swimming pools. Included in this area of responsibility can also be the condition of public walkways such as pavements. Councils have a duty of care to ensure that those using their services are kept as safe as can be reasonably expected. They can do this by monitoring any damage and unsafe conditions and then rectifying any that are needed.
  • Prove that this duty of care was breached – for example, if the duty of care is to keep the public safe while rising their services for their intended purposes then any services that pose a risk to health could mean the duty has been breached. For example, a library could have a spillage on the floor that is not cleaned up or signed posted correctly. This could lead to someone slipping, tripping or falling. The duty may have been breached here as there was no attempt to draw attention to the spillage or clean it up to prevent an accident.
  • Prove that you were injured – you need to have been injured to be eligible for compensation. You may have suffered a broken hip or a broken rib.  The duty of care being breached is not enough. However, your injuries do not need to be physical. It could be that you suffered psychological damage as a result of the incident. You can still claim for this. But if you are completely unharmed, you cannot claim against the council for a personal injury claim.

Potential Personal Injury Compensation Payouts

General Damages

There are a few different sums that can make up a compensation amount. Firstly, let’s address the figure known as general damages. This is the payment that’s awarded to you to reflect the severity of your physical and/or mental injuries.

The amount is calculated by legal professionals with the assistance of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This publication is made up of a list of various injuries that can be caused by negligence. We’ve included a small excerpt in the table below. Therefore, you’ll be able to see some examples of what certain injuries have been awarded in past court settlements.

However, as the name of the publication suggests, these figures are only guidelines. They can fluctuate on a case to case basis based on a number of factors such as the severity of the injuries and how long they take to recover from.

InjuryDescriptionAmount
Psychiatric damage(c) Whilst there will have been significant issues, there will be a marked improvement with a good prognosis£5,500 to £17,900
Chest(g) Rib fractures or soft tissue injuries that cause serious pain and disability with the recovery period only taking a matter of weeksUp to £3,710
Neck(c) Minor - (ii) where the recovery is complete between three months and a year£2,300 to £4,080
Back(c) Minor - (iii) full recovery in three monthsUp to £2,300
Shoulder(c) Moderate - when limitation of movement due to frozen shoulder is persistent for roughly two years,£7,410 to £11,980
Pelvis/hips(b) Moderate (ii) Hip replacement surgery or another type of surgery on the pelvis.£11,820 to £24,950
Arm(c) Less severe - there will have disabilities of a significant disability, but a substantial degree of recovery will occur, if it hasn’t already£18,020 to £36,770
Wrist(e) A Colles’ fracture that is otherwise uncomplicatedIn the region of £6,970
Thumb(u) Severe dislocation£3,710 to £6,360

Special Damages

There are other amounts that can be considered and added to your general damages payment. They are known as special damages.

As a part of your claim, you can also claim special damages which reimburse you for any financial losses that you have incurred as a result of your injury. They are intended to reimburse you for certain costs and expenses that arise as a result of your injuries. For example, you may miss time at work due to your injuries. The wages you could have earned over time could be calculated and paid to you.

Additionally, you may need to cover certain medical costs such as prescriptions. There are a few different things that can be considered eligible for a special damages payment. Get in touch today for more information.

Claiming Compensation For A Data Breach From A Local Council

It’s not just personal injury claims against Sandwell Borough Council that we are going to discuss in this guide. We are also going to illustrate what a claim for a data breach is. A data breach is a security incident that means your personal information has been lost, stolen, altered, destroyed or accessed without authority and no lawful basis.

To illustrate, you may have supplied your local council with your email address for official correspondence. Councils are seen as data controllers because they process the personal information of those who use their services. If this information such as your email is accessed and viewed by those who do not have the authority or a lawful basis to view it then this could be defined as a data breach.

It is vital that data controllers ensure the personal information they collect is kept secure. This is required by the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation UK GDPR.

However, it’s important to remember that your data being breached is not enough for you to be eligible to receive compensation. You need to have suffered some form of injury, or financial loss. The injuries in question are very often psychological. Moreover, you must provide evidence that the data controller failed to protect your information. If the data controller did all that was required of them but a breach happened anyway it is unlikely that a claim is valid.

What You Should Do

Initially, if you believe the council is responsible for breaching your data then you can contact them. You can ask them if a breach has occurred, if so, how did it happen and what information was breached.  Whilst you can ask for compensation at this point, there’s no guarantee that they’ll offer it. Especially without proof.

If you are not happy with how the data controller is handling your complaint you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is an independent body that is responsible for policing data security in the UK. If you are to make a complaint to the ICO you must do so within 3 months of your last meaningful contact with the data controller. Please note the ICO cannot award you compensation.

Some other examples of what could count as a data breach include:

  • Data being sent to the wrong person (either posted or emailed)
  • The theft of or loss of paperwork
  • The disposal process for data being incorrectly carried out
  • Information not being redacted when it should have been

 Data Breach Statistics

To give an idea of how often data incidents can occur, we’ve included a graph below. These trends of data security incidents are listed by specific act and have been taken from the ICO website.

Claim Against Sandwell Borough Council Statistics Graph

Claims For Local Council Housing Disrepair

What is a claim against Sandwell Borough Council for cases of housing disrepair? It is quite rare now for councils to provide social housing. Many councils have sold their properties to various housing associations. If you want to claim for housing disrepair it is important that you know who your landlord is.

Certain housing disrepair that can lead to injuries and illnesses can include:

  • Damp
  • The faulty structure of both inside and outside the house
  • Damage or dysfunction of installations that provide utilities such as heat, water, and electricity

To have your housing disrepair case assessed for free why not speak to the team at How To Sue? They can look over your case and in a matter of minutes can tell you if your potential claim for housing disrepair is valid. They can also suggest who the claim should be against.

Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim Against Sandwell Borough Council?

If you are thinking about a claim against Sandwell Borough Council have you thought about if you will use legal representation? Are you worried about the cost involved in hiring a solicitor? All of the solicitors on our panel work with their clients on a No Win No Fee basis. This means that you won’t be required to pay their costs unless they help you make a successful claim. Then, their fees will be covered by a small percentage taken from your settlement.

If your claim is unsuccessful, you will not have to pay your solicitor anything.

Whilst you can make a claim without the assistance of a lawyer, we don’t recommend it. A solicitor can help you every step of the way. They can help build the evidence you need and ensure the right laws and legislation are quoted to back up your claims.

What Is My Window In Which To Make A Claim?

The time you have you have to start a claim will change depending on the kind of claim you wish to make.

Personal Injury Claims

If you’ve suffered a personal injury due to negligence, then the Limitation Act 1980 states you generally have 3 years in which to start your claim. However, this does have some exceptions.

For example, children (those under 18) cannot make a claim themselves. Therefore, their time limit is suspended until their 18th birthday. Their claim can however be made for them before this date. An adult with the child’s best interests at heart, known legally as a litigation friend, can make the claim on the child’s behalf.

Similarly, those with a reduced mental capacity can also have their time limit suspended. It will only begin if and when their mental capacity returns.

Data Breach Claims

If you are claiming against a local council or other publicly-funded body, then you only have 1 year to start a claim.

For private organisations, you have 6 years.

Housing Disrepair Claims

You will generally have 6 years from the date of your injury to make a claim.

Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Sandwell Borough Council

So, get in touch with us today. Our expert panel of lawyers have a great deal of experience in assisting with claims against local councils. Remember, there’s more than one way that you can get in touch.

  • Call us on 0800 408 7827
  • You can contact us through our website and request a callback
  • Use the live chat window in the bottom right-hand corner

More Resources On Making A Potential Claim Against Sandwell Borough Council

We’ve included some additional links you may find useful.

Guides On How To Sue The Local Council

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