Sunderland City Council - How To Sue For Compensation

In this article, we examine the concept of a data breach claim against Sunderland City Council. If you have evidence that the local council has been negligent and caused you to suffer due to a personal injury or data breach, you may be entitled to make a claim. Our team of advisers are available 24/7 to have a chat with you if you have evidence of a valid claim.

claim against Sunderland City Council

Personal injuries and data breaches can result in physical, mental, and financial issues in your life. However, compensation can help you get your life back on track and pay for expenses you paid out of pocket for.

The UK Data Protection Act Regulation (UK GDPR) was introduced into UK law in 2018 and exists next to the amended version of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). It states that data handlers must have your permission to share your data with anyone.

Before you begin reading this article, you may have some questions like:

Can you claim against the council for personal injury?
Can you claim against the council for potholes?
How do you make a housing disrepair claim?

Our team of advisers are available all day every day to offer you legal advice for free and assess how much compensation you may be owed. Once you’ve had a chat with an adviser about your situation, and if you have a strong claim, they can connect you to a lawyer from our panel to discuss No Win No Fee agreements with you.

You can get in touch with our friendly team of advisers by:

Giving them a call on 0800 408 7827 to discuss your case.
Filling out our online contact form for a reply at your earliest convenience.
Chatting with them via our live chatbox for an instant response.

Select a Section

How Do I Claim Against A Council For A Personal Injury?
Steps Towards Filing Data Breach Compensation Claims Against A Council
When Could I Make Housing Disrepair Compensation Claims Against A Council?
Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim Against Sunderland City Council?
The Time Window For Personal Injury Claims
Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Sunderland City Council
More Resources On Making A Claim Against Sunderland City Council

How Do I Claim Against A Council For A Personal Injury?

Personal injuries can occur in many different circumstances. Here are some examples of an injury you could suffer due to the local council’s negligence:

Slip, trip and fall accidents – An example of this could be if a paving stone is loose on the pavement and you trip over it. This could cause you to suffer a broken hip or broken toe injury.
Defects in public places – An example of this could be a broken bench that causes you to fall and suffer a broken forearm or broken ankle injury. The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 outlines that anyone who occupies or controls a public place is responsible to minimise hazards as much as is reasonably possible.

It’s important to note that the council may not be liable if they weren’t aware of the issue. However, if the council was aware of a pothole, for example, but failed to fix it in a reasonable timeframe and someone was injured as a consequence, the council could be seen as responsible for that injury.

Potential Personal Injury Compensation Payouts

Instead of producing a personal injury claims calculator, we’ve included a compensation table in this article. This includes the possible compensation awards for different injuries and their severities.

Figures from the Judicial College Guidelines are included in the below table. This is a publication that legal professionals use when valuing injuries. The compensation table below is purely an example and figures may differ.

Injury:	Severity:	Compensation:
Hand Injuries	Serious Hand Injuries	£27,220 to £58,100
Hand Injuries	Severe Fractures to Fingers	Up to £34,480
Mental anguish	Fear of potential impending death.	£4,380
Shoulder Injuries	Severe	£18,020 to £45,070
Shoulder Injuries	Moderate	£7,410 to £11,980
Back Injuries	Severe (i)	£85,470 to £151,070
Back Injuries	Moderate (ii)	£11,730 to £26,050

Awarded compensation tends to include general damages and special damages. The figures in the compensation table above are representative of the general damages.

General damages offer compensation for the mental and physical injuries you suffer due to the other party’s negligence. You could even claim if a pre-existing injury is worsened. The bracket awarded is dependent on factors such as the injury severity and length of treatment.

Special damages offer compensation for the impact the injury has had on your life financially. For example, you may have experienced a loss of earnings if you stayed off work to recover from your injuries.

Steps Towards Filing Data Breach Compensation Claims Against A Council

Personal data or personal information is data that can be used to identify you, such as a name or email address.

A data controller is an organisation that decides why and how personal data is used. A data processor is a separate organisation that processes personal information on behalf of the data controller.

What does a data breach claim against Sunderland City Council mean?

A data breach involves your personal information being unlawfully accessed, disclosed, lost, altered or destructed without your consent or another lawful reason. In order to make a claim, positive wrongful conduct must have occurred on behalf of the data controller or processor.

Here are some examples of how a data breach by a local council could occur:

Not using Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) in emails – If BCC isn’t used in a private email (such as an email to individuals from social services), the recipients can see the other email addresses it has been sent to. Therefore, personal information would be exposed without a lawful reason.
Failure to redact information – This could occur if the local council posts a leaflet containing your personal information to people’s houses.

Even if you didn’t suffer harm because of the data breach, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can still fine the local council if they’ve broken the rules about keeping data safe.

The ICO can’t award you compensation, but they can help you understand how the personal data breach occurred and who’s at fault. You should report the data breach to the ICO no later than 3 months after your last meaningful contact with the local council about the issue.

When Could I Make Housing Disrepair Compensation Claims Against A Council?

In order to make a housing disrepair claim against a council, your landlord must be the local council. These types of claims are based on injuries you’ve suffered due to housing disrepair. For example, you may have made the council aware of a fault on the property that they have a responsibility to fix. If they neglected to do so within a reasonable timeframe, and you’re injured as a result, you could claim.

Here are some examples of housing disrepair:

Mould – If you notice mould in your house and report it to your landlord, they have a duty of care to fix the issue. This is because mould can cause you to suffer health issues.
Exterior issues – Problems with the outside of your house can lead to injury.
Broken boiler – If your boiler is broken or not working properly, it can affect your hot water and heating supply. This can then result in health issues due to a lack of warmth.

If you have proof that the local council didn’t rectify these issues within a reasonable timeframe of you reporting them, you could claim.

This guide explores the concept of a claim against Sunderland City Council. However, if you have any questions that aren’t answered here, why not get in touch?

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

Our panel of personal injury lawyers and data breach solicitors are happy to explore working with you on a No Win No Fee basis if you have evidence of a valid claim. A No Win No Fee agreement is a contractual statement that both you and your lawyer agree upon and sign.

The contract includes the rules your solicitor follows in order to receive payment. If your claim doesn’t win, you won’t have to pay your solicitor’s fee. If you succeed in your claim, there will be a small percentage deducted from your compensation by your solicitor. However, this is capped by law. You and your lawyer will have agreed upon this percentage beforehand too.

There’s not much to lose, so why wait to get in touch if you have evidence of a valid claim against Sunderland City Council?

The Time Window For Personal Injury Claims

The personal injury claims time limit is generally three years. This means you can start a personal injury claim up to three years after the date of the accident or the date you realised the injury is linked to someone else’s negligence.

However, the personal injury claims time limit changes in these circumstances:

You’re under 18 – The three-year time limit for child accident claims begins on your 18th birthday. On the other hand, someone you’re close to can act as a litigation friend and claim on your behalf before you turn 18.
Claiming when mentally incapacitated – If you don’t have the mental capacity to make a claim, the three-year time limit starts from the date of recovery. However, someone you trust can become a litigation friend to claim for you sooner than this.

Our guide about what justifies a valid claim against Sunderland City Council aims to help. If you need anything more, you can contact our team of advisers today. They’re available 24/7 to offer you free legal advice.

Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Sunderland City Council

Would you like to learn more about your rights when making a claim? If you have evidence that you’ve suffered a personal injury because of a council’s negligence or they’ve breached your data privacy, our team of advisers can offer you free legal advice.

They’re available around the clock to help you with any queries you have. You don’t have to continue with our services after speaking with an adviser.

However, if you’d like, you can be connected to a solicitor from our panel if you have a valid claim. To contact our friendly team of advisers, you can:

Call them on 0800 408 7827 to have a chat about your situation.
Put your information into our online contact form for a response whenever you’re next available.
Use our live chat pop-up box to talk with an adviser straight away.

More Resources On Making A Claim Against Sunderland City Council

How Do I Know If I’ve Broken A Bone? – If you suspect you may have suffered a broken bone injury, this NHS guide includes useful guidance.

Your Data Matters – This ICO page contains helpful information about the rights you have regarding your personal data.

Guides On How To Sue The Local Council

Thank you for reading our guide about what proof and justifications are needed for a potential claim against Sunderland City Council.

Article by NAY

Edited by VIC

Sunderland City Council Compensation Claims

Sunderland City Council – How To Sue For Compensation