Sefton Borough Council – How To Sue For Compensation

In this article, we will examine what evidence is needed to make a valid claim against Sefton Borough Council.

claim against Sefton Borough Council

A guide on making a claim against Sefton Borough Council

You may have experienced a personal injury as a result of council negligence. You may have had your personal data compromised in a council data breach or been injured by housing disrepair if you live in social housing provided by your local council.

If this is the case, our advisors are here to help. They can offer no-obligation, free legal advice around the clock to help you with a claim against your local council. They can even connect you to a solicitor from our panel. To find out more, why not get in touch? You can do so by:

Select a Section

  1. How To Make A Valid Personal Injury Claim Against A Local Council
  2. Making Data Breach Compensation Claims Against A Council Or Local Authority
  3. Breaking Down How To File Housing Disrepair Claims Against The Local Council
  4. Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim Against Sefton Borough Council?
  5. When Do I Need To Begin My Claim By?
  6. Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Sefton Borough Council
  7. More Resources On Making A Claim Against Sefton Borough Council

How To Make A Valid Personal Injury Claim Against A Local Council

Your local council has a responsibility to make sure that public highways in their control (such as certain roads, footpaths, and cycle lanes) are maintained in a reasonable time frame. If cracks or potholes appear on public surfaces, they should attempt to fix these issues in a reasonable time frame to ensure nobody gets injured.

Injuries could occur through the disrepair of publicly-owned properties such as the Town Hall or leisure centres. What’s more, slip or fall accidents can be caused by raised kerbs, potholes, or any other defect generally greater than an inch. Examples of injuries you could suffer due to such accidents include a broken rib, a broken cheekbone, or a broken hip.

Your local council has a duty of care to reasonably look after everyone that uses roads or public footpaths with timely maintenance. This can be planned, or reactive when things go wrong. Failure to do so within a reasonable timeframe could be considered a breach of their duty of care. This duty of care is highlighted in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. If such a breach results in you sustaining an injury that wasn’t your fault, you could be eligible to claim for an accident in a public place.

Possible Personal Injury Compensation Payouts

We have provided a list of example payouts that you may be able to receive for a successful claim. These have been based on figures taken from the Judicial College Guidelines. This is a publication solicitors may use when valuing injuries.

InjurySeverityNature of incidentPossible compensation
Injury to the Body(b) ParaplegiaAmount of compensation will be based on factors such as severity, age, and impact on bodily functions£205,580 - £266,740
Injury to the Brain(b) Moderately Severe Brain DamageCan involve cognitive and physical disability. Compensation can be based on extent of degeneracy, age, and severity of disability.£205,580 - £264,650
Psychiatric Injury(a) SeverePost-Traumatic Stress Disorder where all aspects of life are badly affected£56,180 - £94,470
Sight(e) Complete Loss of Sight in One EyeThe higher end of the bracket can apply where cosmetic damage is present but not serious£46,240 - £51,460
Deafness/Tinnitus(b) Total DeafnessThis is where the injured person is totally deaf but has not suffered a loss of speech, or tinnitus£85,170 - £102,890
Digestive System(a) Damage Resulting from Traumatic Injury (i)Sustained discomfort and pain will apply£40,370 - £58,100
Injury to the Neck(b) (i) ModerateInvolves fracturing and dislocation where spinal fusion may be needed£23,460 - £36,120
Injury to the Shoulder(b) SeriousShoulder dislocation causing damage to the brachial plexus, leading to reduced grip and less movement£11,980 - £18,020
Injury to the Wrist(b) Loss of functionSignificant disability but some movement is still there£44,690 - £56,180
Injury to the Hand(b) SeriousCosmetic damage, as well as a reduction in function£27,220 - £58,100

While these are a useful guide, they do not factor in the complex details of your case. For a more accurate figure of what you might be owed, speak to our advisors who can value your claim for free. This can help you if you have evidence of a legitimate claim against Sefton Borough Council.

Making Data Breach Compensation Claims Against A Council Or Local Authority

A data breach is when your personal information is lost, accessed, disclosed, destroyed or changed due to a security incident. This occurs without your permission or a lawful reason. This can happen when a data controller (an organisation that decides how and why they’ll process personal data) sends personal information to the wrong address, for example.

The data can be physical (on paper documents, for example) or digital. A data breach can be accidental or deliberate.

Personal data protection laws aim to help keep your information safe. The UK General Data Protection Regulation sits alongside the Data Protection Act 2018.

While personal data breaches can be frustrating, the data breach itself is not enough for a claim. The data breach must have caused emotional or mental injury, and/or financial loss for a claim to be considered. What’s more, it must’ve been caused by the organisation’s (in this case, the council) wrongful conduct.

For example, if a council doesn’t train its employees in data protection, but asks them to handle personal data, it could lead to a data breach. If they don’t provide online security, it could lead to a successful cyberattack where personal data is accessed.

If you have evidence of a valid claim against Sefton Borough council, you could speak to our advisors for more advice. They can offer advice on data breach claims for free with no obligation for you to proceed with our services.

Breaking Down How To File Housing Disrepair Claims Against The Local Council

All landlords have an obligation to ensure that houses they rent out are in acceptable liveable condition. They are generally responsible for the structural integrity of the house, the exterior, and anything concerning utilities, such as water and electricity. Failure to keep up with regular repairs could result in injury.

Under the Defective Premises Act 1972, landlords have a duty of care if they have an obligation to maintain or repair your home. This is also true if they have a right to carry out repairs by entering the property. They should prevent damage to your property or personal injury that could be caused by defects in the home.

However, this duty of care is only owed if the landlord knew about or ought to have known about a repair.

In certain cases, the council acts as a landlord.

If a landlord breaches this duty of care, causing you injury, you could claim.

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

You may be interested in starting a legitimate claim, but you may be concerned that funding the services of a solicitor costs too much money. You may be interested in a No Win No Fee agreement. This is a type of legal agreement between you and your appointed solicitor where you do not pay their fee upfront or while your claim is ongoing.

If your claim does not succeed, you will not be asked to pay your solicitor’s fee. However, if your claim does succeed, you only pay a small percentage from your compensation as a “success fee”. This is capped by law.

Please note that you can only enter into a No Win No Fee agreement with a solicitor or lawyer. You also do not have to be represented by a solicitor — you can start a claim entirely by yourself. However, you may benefit from No Win No Fee and the expertise a solicitor can provide. This could prove to make a difference if you were to claim.

When Do I Need To Begin My Claim By?

Personal injury claims have a time limit that you need to be aware of before you claim. This time limit is laid out by the Limitation Act 1980. You generally need to start a claim within three years from the date of your injury. This can also be three years from the date you gained knowledge that negligence at least contributed to your suffering.

If you are under 18 at the time of your injury, your time limit only starts once you turn 18. Before this time, a court has the power to appoint a litigation friend who can help represent your claim. This could be a close family member or a solicitor.

If you lack the mental capacity to start a claim, you can also make use of a litigation friend. If you recover mental capacity, the time limit will commence from this recovery date.

For council data breach claims, the time limit is generally 6 years.

Six years is also the general time limit for injuries caused by housing disrepair.

If you are unsure of how much time you have left to claim, speak to our advisors today.

Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Sefton Borough Council

We hope this guide on what a valid claim against Sefton Borough Council could look like was helpful. Why not call us today for free, no-obligation legal advice? Our advisors are available 24/7 and can even connect you with a solicitor from our panel if they believe your case is viable. To find out more, contact us by:

More Resources On Making A Claim Against Sefton Borough Council

Statutory sick pay – UK Government

Personal data breach – Information Commissioner’s Office

Guides On How To Sue The Local Council

Thank you for reading our article about what evidence could lead to a valid claim against Sefton Borough Council.

Article by MCC

Edited by VIC