Bolton Borough Council – How To Sue For Compensation

In this guide, we will explore when a claim against Bolton Borough Council could be justified. The local council owes you a duty of care to take all reasonable steps to remove or reduce the risk of harm. We will explore their responsibilities in more detail throughout this guide.

claim against Bolton borough council

A guide on when a claim against Bolton borough council could be justified

Furthermore, we will explore the different types of accidents that could occur should a local council breach their duty of care.

Whilst we have aimed to provide you with the information you need, we understand you may still have questions after reading. If so, you can speak to an advisor today for free legal advice. Our team is available to help 24 hours a day.

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Select a Section

  1. Claims Against Your Council For Personal Injury
  2. How To Claim Data Breach Compensation Against The Local Council
  3. Making Housing Disrepair Claims Against A Local Council
  4. Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim Against Bolton Borough Council?
  5. How Much Time Do I Have To Make A Claim?
  6. Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Bolton Borough Council
  7. More Resources On Making A Valid Claim Against Bolton Borough Council

Claims Against Your Council For Personal Injury

The person in control of a public place has a duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. This duty of care extends to local councils. As such, they have a duty to keep certain roads, footpaths, and other spaces they are in control of safe by taking reasonable steps to prevent the risk of harm.

The reasonable steps they could take might include repairing uneven pavement, potholes, or protruding tree roots within a timely manner after they have been made aware.

If your local council were to breach their duty of care, this could result in an accident that sees you becoming harmed. For example, you may be involved in a slip or trip accident that sees you suffer from a break or fracture, such as a broken foot or broken hip.

If they fail to uphold their duty of care, this is known as negligence. To make a personal injury claim, you must be able to prove that negligence caused you to sustain physical or psychological harm.

If you have evidence that your local council breached their duty of care which then saw you becoming harmed, speak to our advisors to find out what your next steps could be.

Potential Personal Injury Compensation Payouts

When seeking compensation for a personal injury claim, your overall settlement may include special and general damages.

Any financial losses you have sustained due to your injury would be compensated under special damages. This can include lost wages, care expenses and travel costs.

The impact of any psychological and physical harm on your quality of life, including the pain and suffering you have experienced due to your injuries, is compensated under general damages.

It is important that you can provide evidence of these damages in order to successfully make a claim for them. For special damages, this can include receipts and payslips.

For general damages, you may be invited to attend an independent medical appointment to produce a detailed report on the nature of your injuries. Solicitors can use this alongside the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help them when valuing your injuries.

The JCG is a list of compensation brackets that correspond to different types of injuries all varying in severity. We have used these to create the table below. Whilst the figures in the table are based on past court cases, they might differ from what you’re actually awarded.

InjuryAmount
Brain and Head Injury - (d) Less Severe£15,320 - £43,060
Back Injuries - (b) Moderate (i)£27,760 - £38,780
Hand Injuries - (f)Up to £36,740
Other Arm Injuries - (c) Less Severe£19,200 - £39,170
Leg Injuries - (c) Less Serious (i)£17,960 - £27,760
Ankle Injuries - (c) Moderate£13,740 - £26,590
Neck Injuries - (b) Moderate (ii)£13,740 - £24,990
Foot Injuries - (f) Moderate£13,740 - £24,990
Wrist Injuries - (c)£12,590 - £24,500
Injuries to the Pelvis and Hips - (c) Lesser (i)£3,950 - £12,590

How To Claim Data Breach Compensation Against The Local Council

A personal data breach can be defined as a security incident that leads to your personal information being lost, destroyed or altered either accidentally or unlawfully. It could also mean that your personal information is accessed or disclosed without authorisation.

As a data controller, your local council must adhere to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and an updated version of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). These set out the responsibilities for organisations processing the personal data of those who reside in the UK.

A data controller decides why and how your personal data will be processed. If they fail to adhere to data protection law, it could lead to a personal data breach.

Data breaches can be caused by both cyber and non-cyber security incidents, such as human error or failure to update cyber security systems. Some examples of how your personal data may become compromised are:

  • Your personal data is sent to the wrong person via the wrong email or postal address.
  • A cyber attack due to your local council not updating its cybersecurity measures.

However, in order to make a successful claim, you first must prove that your personal data was breached due to your local council’s failings. You must also prove that you suffered mentally and/or financially due to the breach.

To find more on what kind of evidence you will need to support a valid claim against Bolton Borough council for a data breach, speak with our advisors.

Making Housing Disrepair Claims Against A Local Council

When living in social housing, the council is considered to be your landlord. They have a duty of care to ensure repairs are carried out in a timely manner to reduce the risk of you experiencing harm in your home. A failure to do so could result in poor living conditions causing you harm.

Some examples of how housing disrepair could cause you harm include:

  • You complained to your local council about the structural integrity of your home’s ceiling as it had begun to sag. They did not make these repairs within a timely manner, and as a result, part of your ceiling fell down. This then caused you to suffer from a broken rib injury.
  • You complained to your local council about damp and mould in your home. They did not resolve this issue, causing you to suffer from respiratory problems such as a chest infection.

If you have evidence that you were harmed due to housing disrepair, call us. An advisor can discuss when a claim against Bolton Borough council for housing disrepair could be justified.

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

When pursuing a valid claim against Bolton Borough council, you may want to consider a type of No Win No Fee agreement called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). A CFA could be beneficial to you if you want to seek legal representation.

Some of the benefits of this type of arrangement are if your claim is unsuccessful, you are not obligated to pay for your solicitor’s services.

If your claim wins, you pay a success fee out of your compensation. This success fee is a small percentage capped by law.

To find out whether you can work with a solicitor from our panel on this basis, contact our advisors today for more information.

How Much Time Do I Have To Make A Claim?

The Limitation Act 1980 lays out the time limits for making a claim.

For personal injury claims, this time limit is three years from either the date of the accident or the date the injury was connected with negligence. However, if you are under the age of 18, the time limit won’t start until you turn 18. Also, if the injured person is mentally incapacitated, the time limit can start from the date of recovery.

Alternatively, in both cases, someone could apply to act as a litigation friend and put forward the claim on behalf of either the child or the person with a reduced mental capacity.

The time limit for data breach claims is six years or one year when claiming against a public body.

To discuss the time limits in more detail, please get in touch on the number above.

Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Bolton Borough Council

If you still have any questions regarding when a claim against Bolton Borough Council could be justified, you can get in touch with our advisors today. Our team is here to help 24 hours a day.

You can speak to an advisor by:

More Resources On Making A Valid Claim Against Bolton Borough Council

Guides On How To Sue The Local Council

Speak with our advisors today for more information on when a claim against Bolton Borough council could be justified.

Article by ROB

Edited by MIT