Claims Against the Council

Your final compensation amount will depend upon the severity of your injury and the impact it has had and could have on your life in the future. Whatever your circumstances after an accident that was the council’s fault, we’ll seek a fair settlement that reflects any challenges you have experienced because of your injury.

As a guide, your compensation could cover:

• Loss of earnings
• Cost of attending hospital and GP appointments and buying medical equipment
• The costs of any treatment you’ve received and any further medical procedures or care you may need
• Living and accessibility changes made to your home or vehicle because of your injury.

Claims against the council usually need to be made within three years of the accident that caused your injury. This means that court proceedings need to be issued ahead of the third anniversary of the accident, so it’s important to get in touch with our expert solicitors in good time to help you with the process.

There are, however, some important exceptions to the three-year rule:

• If you are claiming on behalf of your child, the time limit begins on their 18th birthday
• If you are claiming on behalf of someone who doesn’t have the mental capacity to claim for themselves, there is no time limit, but beware that people can regain mental capacity after some time

In cases of council negligence, you should make your claim as soon as possible. This makes it easier for us to gather evidence, such as interviewing witnesses in support of your case or taking pictures and measurements of the road/paving defect that caused your injury.

If the injury or illness you have sustained through the council’s negligence has a damaging impact on your mental health, you may be able to claim compensation.

Examples include being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, or anxiety because of the incident.

If you have been hurt because pavements or other council property were not properly maintained, the local authority may be legally responsible for your injury.

To avoid legal responsibility, a council must prove that there’s a system of regular inspections in place to identify and fix any potential road or pavement hazards.

If you have a case against the council, our solicitors will work hard to prove that safety and maintenance standards weren’t met—they may have failed to identify and fix the defect over a significant amount of time.

Yes, you can—we handle most of our claims using no win no fee agreements, meaning you will pay nothing if your claim isn’t successful.

If your claim wins, most of your fees will be paid by your opponent.

To make sure there’s no financial risk to you, you will need an ‘After The Event’ (ATE) insurance policy to make a no win no fee claim. We will discuss the finer points, along with alternative funding options, before we start working for you.