How To Sue Your Local Council | Personal Injury Claims Guide

By Stephen Chambers. Last Updated 4th October 2024. Have you been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault? Do you have reason to believe that your local council was to blame? If so, there’s a chance that you could be eligible to receive compensation for your suffering.

In this article, we’ll explain how you could access this compensation by making a personal injury claim. To successfully sue your local council, you’ll need a strong set of supporting evidence to prove their liability, which may include photographs of the scene and cause of the accident, witness statements and a medical report from an independent expert.

With years of experience, our trusted panel of personal injury lawyers can work with you to help secure the maximum compensation that you deserve. By expertly navigating the claims process on your behalf on a No Win No Fee basis, you won’t have to pay them a penny if they don’t win your case for you.

So, with nothing to lose and a payout to possibly gain, why not see what we could do to help you?

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A man wearing a knitted hat lies on the floor in pain after slipping on snow

Select a Section

  1. How To Sue Your Local Council
  2. How Can The Local Council Breach Their Duty Of Care?
  3. How Do I Prove A Claim Against The Council?
  4. What Is The Average Payout For A Public Liability Claim?
  5. How To Sue Your Local Council On A No Win No Fee Basis
  6. How To Find A Quality Personal Injury Lawyer
  7. Extra Materials On How To Sue Your Local Council

How To Sue Your Local Council

Local councils owe a duty of care to members of the public under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. Per their duty, they must take all necessary steps and measures to minimise the risk of accidents and help ensure the reasonable safety of those visiting public spaces they are in control of. For example, this could include local libraries, leisure centres and public footpaths.

The eligibility criteria to take legal action against the council are as follows:

  1. The council owed you a duty of care.
  2. This duty was breached in some way. For example, they failed to fix a faulty handrail on the stairs in a local library.
  3. That breach resulted in an accident in which you were injured. For example, you fell down the stairs due to the faulty handrail and suffered a broken ankle.

To find out more about how to sue the council after an accident, contact our advisory team today using the contact information provided above.

How Can The Local Council Breach Their Duty Of Care?

Public places such as highways (roads), footpaths (pavements), leisure centres and libraries are all operated by the council. Therefore, they are responsible for putting appropriate provisions in place to maintain users’ safety as is reasonably expected by law.

Whatever the circumstances of your public place incident, you could sue your local council providing you have reason to believe that their negligence was responsible for your suffering.  Below, we’ve provided some examples of how a council could breach their duty of care.

Pavement Accidents

Have you tripped on a pothole or uneven paving slab while walking down the street? Have you slipped on an ungritted walkway while emerging from a public building?

Much of local councils’ responsibility falls under highway maintenance, including public roads and pavements. Whatever your situation, if the local council failed to prevent you from harm as their duty of care expects them to, you could be able to make a claim against them for your suffering.

For surface defects, you can typically establish grounds for a claim if they’re more than 40mm in depth. However, if you’re unsure whether you could have a valid claim, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team today so one of our advisors can give you a free consultation on your situation.

Accidents On Public Roads

Have you struck a hazardous pothole while driving along the road? Have you been involved in a road traffic accident caused by a council vehicle?

The Highways Act 1980 outlines responsibilities that the council has in order to maintain the safety of public roads in Britain. Following this legislation, councils can construct a defence for themselves if they can prove that they put appropriate provisions in place to maintain this safety as is reasonably expected of them.

But this means that these types of claims can be particularly difficult to make. The provisions that must be in place include:

  • Safety measures to tackle adverse weather like ice and snow that could affect surfaces
  • Undertake regular inspections for surface damage and the like in accordance with the volume of traffic and type of use
  • Address and remedy any known potential hazards as quickly as possible, alerting them to road users in the meantime

Leisure Centre And Library Incidents

Have you tripped on a loose gutter at your local swimming pool? Have you slipped on the ungritted staircase of your local library?

As leisure centres and libraries are also types of council-operated public places, you could be able to make a claim against them if you were injured as a result of their negligence.

As mentioned above, in order to have a valid claim, the council must have failed to put appropriate provisions in place to maintain your safety. For those in control of public places, this responsibility is outlined by law under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, which you can learn more about in the next section.

To learn more about how to sue your local council, please get in touch with one of our specialist advisors today for a consultation that you can trust.  Alternatively, please continue reading to learn more about accident statistics in council-operated public places and what to do if you find yourself in this situation yourself.

How Do I Prove A Claim Against The Council?

When you’re aiming to sue the council for injuries, evidence is essential in a number of ways. It can help you prove that the local council breached their duty of care, how severe your injuries are, and how they’ll affect your future quality of life.

Some examples of evidence that you could gather to support a claim against the council include:

  • The contact details of any witnesses who can provide a statement regarding the accident that injured you.
  • Your medical records, which can provide insight into physical injuries and emotional distress, as well as the treatment you have had or will need to recover.
  • Photographs of the accident site along with any visible injuries you sustained.
  • If you were injured on council property and the incident was caught on CCTV, you may be able to request the CCTV footage.

If you choose to work with a solicitor who can help with your case, they may arrange for you to undergo an independent medical assessment. During this assessment, an independent medical professional will review your injuries and write up a report.

For more advice about gathering evidence or other aspects of claiming, such as potentially taking a council to court, contact our advisors for free today.

What Is The Average Payout For A Public Liability Claim?

If you’ve been injured in a public place accident and wish to sue the local council responsible for it, you may be wondering how much compensation you could be entitled to.

Compensation for personal injuries is typically awarded according to two categories of damage; general damages and special damages.

General damages payouts aim to compensate victims for any physical or psychological trauma that they’ve suffered as a result of the council’s negligence. In this respect, anything from the pain of your injury to the emotional distress that you’ve experienced could be covered as part of your settlement.

Calculating General Damages With A Personal Injury Claim Calculator

Given that personal injury claims calculators can sometimes provide you with generalised compensation figures rather than accurate estimates, we recommend a consultation with one of our specialist advisors instead. Please call today to discuss your circumstances and see how much you could be entitled to.

In the meantime, please see the table below for some example compensation brackets from the Judicial College Guidelines for personal injuries (including psychiatric):

InjurySeverityAward Guideline
Multiple Very Severe Injuries + Special DamagesVery SevereUp to £1,000,000+
Brain DamageVery Severe (a)£344,150 to £493,000
Moderately Severe (b)£267,340 to £344,150
Back Injuries Severe (a)(i)£111,150 to £196,450
Severe(a)(iii)£47,320 to £85,100
Other Arm InjuriesLess Severe (c)£23,430 to £47,810
Neck Injuries Moderate (b)(i)£30,500 to £46,970
Less Severe Leg InjuriesFractures From Which Incomplete Recovery Is Made (a)£21,920 to £33,880
Foot Injuries Moderate (f)£16,770 to £30,500

Special Damages

Special damages could be claimed to compensate any financial losses that the local council has caused you to suffer or potentially encounter in future, such as:

  • Medical fees
  • Travel fees
  • Care costs
  • Income loss

The aim is to restore you to the financial position you were in before the accident, as well as taking into account any future losses.

To successfully recover special damages, you’ll need to supply evidence, such as bank statements, bills, invoices, and even bus tickets.

How To Sue Your Local Council On A No Win No Fee Basis

Our panel of personal injury lawyers can navigate the claims process on your behalf on a No Win No Fee basis, meaning you won’t have to pay them a penny if they don’t win your case for you.

For those who are new to No Win No Fee agreements, they’re simply a fairer way of using legal help. There aren’t any upfront costs to pay and there’s no need to worry about hidden fees either. Therefore, you can rest assured that any financial risk typically associated with the process of making a claim is eliminated.

If your solicitor wins your case, then a payment typically referred to as a ‘success fee’ will be deducted from your compensation. However, this is a small percentage of your payout which is capped by law to prevent any nasty surprises.

How To Find A Quality Personal Injury Lawyer

Making a claim against the local council can be particularly difficult. If you’re worried about the risk involved in making a claim, did you know that having a solicitor handle your case could significantly boost your case’s chances of success?

At this point, you may be wondering how to find a No Win No Fee personal injury lawyer for you.

Since law firms can operate virtually, there’s no need for you to scour your local area for a solicitor near you. Instead, you can find the best legal help remotely. What’s more, online reviews can help you compare services to see which best suits your needs.

Why not take a look at our reviews page today to see how well our clients rate us?

Contact Us About Your Claim

By getting in touch with our team today, one of our advisors can give you a free consultation on your situation, offering specialist legal advice and support. What’s more, if they feel that you have grounds to make a claim, they’ll connect you with our panel of personal injury lawyers to begin working on your case right away.

With years of experience, our trusted panel of personal injury lawyers can work with you to help secure the maximum compensation that you deserve. By expertly navigating the claims process on your behalf on a No Win No Fee basis, you won’t have to pay them a penny if they don’t win your case for you.

So, with nothing to lose, why not see how we could help you?

Extra Materials On How To Sue Your Local Council

Guides On How To Sue The Local Council

Thank you for reading our guide on how to sue your local council. We hope you’ve found it useful.