Wigan Borough Council – How To Sue For Compensation

Have you suffered a data breach or personal injury due to a council’s negligence? Our guide explores the concept of a claim against Wigan Borough Council, but you could use it in reference to any local authority.

claim against Wigan Borough Council

A data breach or personal injury could cause you to suffer in more ways than one. However, compensation can help you get your life back on track.

Our team of advisers are available 24 hours a day to offer free legal advice. You can be connected to a lawyer from our panel if your claim is legitimate. They can then help you gather sufficient evidence to support your claim and begin working on getting you the maximum amount of compensation you deserve.

You can contact our team of advisers by:

  • Giving them a call on 0800 408 7828 to discuss your claim.
  • Filling in our contact form to receive a reply when you’re next free.
  • Chatting with them via our live chat pop-up box to receive an immediate response.

Select a Section

  1. Suing Your Own Local Council For A Personal Injury
  2. What Comprises Data Breach Compensation Claims Against A Local Council?
  3. Building Housing Disrepair Claims When Suing A Local Council
  4. Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim Against Wigan Borough Council?
  5. Time Lengths In Which To Claim
  6. Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Wigan Borough Council
  7. More Resources On Making A Claim Against Wigan Borough Council

Suing Your Own Local Council For A Personal Injury

The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 states that anyone who owns, occupies, or controls a public place has a duty of care to protect anyone who has access to it (invited or not).

The local council controls some public roads, public footpaths, public parks, and some public buildings (such as local libraries). Here are some examples of how you could suffer an injury due to the local council’s negligence:

  • Slip, trip or fall – This could occur if a tree branch is sticking out the ground and you trip over it. Alternatively, it could occur if a paving stone is raised by more than an inch. If the council was aware of these hazards but failed to rectify them within a reasonable timeframe, it could’ve breached its duty of care. This could result in a broken ankle or broken toe injury, for example.
  • Public space defect – An example of this could be a broken climbing frame in a public park that the council was aware of but didn’t take measures to fix. If a child falls due to the defect, they could suffer a broken forearm or broken rib injury.

Potential Personal Injury Compensation Payouts

You may find a personal injury claims calculator in some articles, but we’ve produced a compensation table for this article instead. The figures below are taken from the Judicial College Guidelines. This is a publication that shows how injuries, and their severities, could be valued.

However, the figures in the compensation table below are for example purposes only.

Injury:Severity:Notes:Compensation:
Injuries to the Pelvis and Hips Severe (ii) A public rami or ischial fracture or dislocation that results in impotence. £58,100 to £73,580
Injuries to the Pelvis and Hips Moderate (ii) You may need surgery such as a hip replacement. £11,820 to £24,950
Mental anguishFear of impending death£4,380
Wrist InjuriesCausing complete function lossThe wrist has no function left and an arthrodesis has been done. £44,690 to £56,180
Wrist InjuriesCausing permanent, significant disabilitySignificant disability that’s permanent and the wrist can still move slightly. £22,990 to £36,770
Hand Injuries(a) Total or Effective Loss of Both HandsThe hands are essentially useless due to being extensively damaged. £132,040 to £189,110
Hand Injuries(d) Amputation of Index and Middle and/or Ring FingersThe hand and fingers will have a weak grip and the hand is little more than useful. £58,100 to £85,170

Most compensation figures include special damages and general damages. The above figures represent general damages (compensation for physical and mental injury). The awarded bracket varies depending on factors such as how severe the injury is and how long the treatment takes.

Special damages compensate for how the injury has affected you financially. For example, you may have paid out of pocket for prescription medication to treat your injury.

In order to prove special damages, you should provide evidence such as bills and receipts.

What Comprises Data Breach Compensation Claims Against A Local Council?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was enacted into UK law in 2018, accompanying an amended version of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). As an example of a consequence of this, you might find that you now have to consent to sharing your personal data whenever you use a new website.

Personal data or personal information can be used to identify you, whether directly or indirectly. For example, your name or credit card details are personal information.

There are multiple ways that a data breach can occur. It is defined as being the unlawful or unauthorised loss, destruction, disclosure, alteration of, or access to, personal data.

Data Breach Claim

In order to make a data breach claim against a local council, their positive wrongful conduct must have led to the data breach. For example, it may not have trained staff properly in data protection law. Alternatively, it may not have applied proper cybersecurity measures.

You also need to show that you suffered financial loss or mental harm because of the breach. Alternatively, you could claim for both effects.

Even if you aren’t harmed, the local council can still be fined by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for the data breach. The ICO is an independent body that enforces data protection law in the UK.

Furthermore, the council can also be fined even if the data breach was an accident. For example, if a bag containing personal information documents was left on public transport and unlawfully accessed, it may have been due to human error but could still constitute a data breach.

Here are some examples of a data breach:

  • Delivering a letter to the wrong address – If a letter containing your personal information is delivered to the wrong address, despite you providing the correct address, a stranger could access it without your consent.
  • Failure to redact – Sometimes, the local council may publish information online and, if it contains personal information, that data should be redacted unless there’s a lawful reason not to.

Claim against Wigan Borough Council

The chart above contains ICO statistics showing the number of selected cyber and non-cyber data security incident trends in quarter 2 of 2021/22

As you can see, out of those we’ve provided in the chart above, the most common was a verbal disclosure of personal data, with 9 reports. On the other hand, the least common were both malware and hardware/software misconfiguration, both with 2 reports.

Building Housing Disrepair Claims When Suing A Local Council

If you live in council housing, the local authority could have a duty of care to fix any reasonable housing issues you report to them. If they don’t do so within a practicable timeframe and it causes you injury, you may be able to make a housing disrepair claim.

Here are some examples of housing disrepair:

  • Housing exterior – If there are issues with the exterior of the house, the council may have a duty of care to fix them. If they don’t, and you suffer as a result, you may be able to make a building housing disrepair claim.
  • Mould (not condensation) – If there’s mould in your house, and it needs to be treated by a professional, you could develop health issues if it doesn’t get sorted. This is why it’s important for your landlord to fix this issue as soon as reasonably possible.
  • Boiler problems – This could affect your heating and hot water supply. As this could result in you becoming unwell, your landlord should fix your boiler issues as soon as reasonably possible.

If you have evidence of the local council not fixing your housing disrepair and it caused you injury or illness as a result, you may be able to make a housing disrepair claim.

Though this guide aims to help you understand the concept of a claim against Wigan Borough Council, you may still have questions. If so, why not reach out to our advisers?

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

You can discuss making a No Win No Fee claim with our team of advisers. A No Win No Fee agreement is a signed contract between you and your solicitor. It outlines what rules your lawyer must adhere to in order to get paid.

You won’t have to pay any of your solicitor’s fees if your claim is unsuccessful. If your claim succeeds, a small, legally capped percentage will be deducted from your compensation. You’ll know about this ‘success fee’ before you and agree to use the services of your solicitor.

A No Win No Fee agreement includes various monetary benefits, so why wait? You can get in touch with our team of advisers today if you have proof of a data breach or personal injury caused by your local council.

If you have evidence of a valid claim against Wigan Borough Council, why not get in touch?

Time Lengths In Which To Claim

Generally, there’s a three-year personal injury claims time limit. This means you have a three-year timeframe to make a personal injury claim from when the injury happens or when you link the injury to someone else’s negligence, if that’s later.

There are some instances where the three-year personal injury claims time limit alters, such as:

  • Mentally incapacitated claims – If you don’t have the mental capacity to claim, the three-year time limit will start when you begin your recovery. To claim before your recovery commences, someone close to you can become a litigation friend and make the claim on your behalf.
  • Child accident claims – If you’re not yet 18, the three-year time limit starts when you turn 18. To make a claim before you turn 18, someone you trust can act as a litigation friend. They’d claim on your behalf.

In regards to data breach claims, you’d have either:

  • 1 year to claim against a public body; or
  • 6 years to claim against a non-public body.

Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Wigan Borough Council

If you have evidence of harm due to a data breach or personal injury caused by the local council, you can contact our advisers.

They can have a chat with you about the concept of a claim against Wigan Borough Council. After speaking with an adviser, you don’t have to continue with our services.

However, our advisers could connect you to a lawyer from our panel if you have evidence that can justify a claim. You can contact our team of advisers via:

  • A telephone call on 0800 408 7828 to have a chat.
  • Our online contact form to receive a response when you’re next available.
  • Our live chat box to talk with an adviser straight away.

More Resources On Making A Claim Against Wigan Borough Council

How Do I Know If I’ve Broken A Bone? – Do you suspect you may have suffered a bone fracture? This NHS guide includes important guidance.

Action We’ve Taken – This ICO page shows the action they’ve taken to prevent data breaches.

Guides On How To Sue The Local Council

Thank you for reading our guide about what could justify a valid claim against Wigan Borough Council. 

Article by NAY

Edited by VIC