Pages On: Pothole Injuries
Potholes are a blight on road users and pedestrians alike. Not only can they damage our property, they can cause serious injuries in the form of trip and fall accidents. Most councils have their own criteria for assessing the need to fill potholes. However, budget constraints can play a hand in the maintenance of them. If a council has overlooked a significant pothole that has caused you injury, you may be entitled to claim personal injury compensation from them — if they are liable for the accident.
Woman falls into hole in pavement outside cafe
Posted: 2 May 2015
Posted in: Pothole Injuries, Public Place Accidents
A woman in her 40s was rescued by cafe worker, Mohammad Atilla, after falling down a hole in the pavement just minutes after a man had fallen down the same hole, twisting his ankle. Workers in the area also rushed to help the woman when they heard a loud scream just before 9 o’clock in the morning. The victims had fallen into a 3 foot wide chasm that had appeared outside a cafe on North End Road in Fulham, south west London. Emergency services were called for the female victim who was…
Read MoreTrips and falls lead to £50,000 injury compensation bill
Posted: 3 March 2015
Posted in: Pedestrian Injuries, Pothole Injuries, Public Place Accidents
Slips, trips and falls have resulted in more than £50,000 being paid out by Norwich City Council to injured pedestrians. The council blames City Hall budgets, saying that if they continue to see cuts, the pavements will only continue to deteriorate, causing more injuries. Of the 49 claims involving trips or falls in the last twelve months, the city council defended 40 of them. Of those 40, only 9 received compensation – totaling £52,427. This figure was even greater than the previous year, with 2012/13 seeing 6 compensation payouts, totaling…
Read MoreDevon councils payout £2.5m to personal injury claimants
Posted: 2 October 2014
Posted in: Neck Injuries, Pedestrian Injuries, Personal Injury, Pothole Injuries, Public Place Accidents, Spine & Back Injuries
Figures have revealed that two Devon councils have paid out around £2.5m to personal injury claimants in the last four years alone. The incidents included people tripping on pavements to people falling into a harbour. One of the councils, Plymouth City Council, paid out the majority at £2.1m, while Torbay Council paid out £400,000 to claimants. Both figures were disclosed following a Freedom of Information request. The highest payout made was by Plymouth Council in 2010: £105,000 to a claimant who suffered a severe back injury after tripping due to a “footway…
Read MoreOnly five of 241 pothole injury claimants win compensation
Posted: 9 August 2014
Posted in: Arm Injury, Head and Brain Injuries, Pothole Injuries, Public Place Accidents
Recently released figures have revealed that in Buckinghamshire only 5 out of 241 pothole injury claimants actually receive compensation. The figures were obtained by a Freedom of Information request by the Bucks Advertiser, revealing that only a very small percentage of people injured by potholes over the last five years won any compensation. The five successful claimants cost Bucks County Council £117,000. Mark Shaw, the deputy cabinet member for transportation, said that the council only pays out when they have failed to meet their duty of care. The figures were released after a…
Read MoreCouncil pays out £83 a day for pothole damage
Posted: 31 July 2014
Posted in: Foot Injuries, Pedestrian Injuries, Pothole Injuries, Public Place Accidents, Road Traffic Accidents
A council is found to be paying out the equivalent of £83 a day in compensation due to the damage being caused by potholes. Barking and Dagenham Council has paid out a total of £182,635 in the last six years to claimants seeking compensation for personal injury and vehicle damage. The figures were released as part of a Freedom of Information request. It found that a total of 22 claims had been made against the council in relation to pothole damage between January and May 2014, (compared with 40 in the entire…
Read More£14,000 compensation to pensioner following trip and fall
Posted: 27 March 2014
Posted in: Pothole Injuries, Public Place Accidents, Shoulder Injuries
Thousands of pounds worth of compensation has been awarded to a pensioner who tripped and fell on an uneven road surface in Yeadon. The 88-year-old grandmother, Jean Whitters, sustained serious injuries in the accident on Yeadon High Street, and accepted £14,000 settlement from the authority. The accident happened in August of 2012, two years after the roads had undergone a £1million regeneration scheme. Even though the regeneration scheme saw major improvements on the roads, councillors still argued that it was not up to standard. Following this, the roads were resurfaced again prior…
Read MoreCompensation awarded for pothole trip leading to brain injury
Posted: 20 March 2013
Posted in: Head and Brain Injuries, Pothole Injuries, Public Place Accidents
An Australian charity worker has been awarded “substantial damages” after he tripped in a pothole in South London and sustained a serious brain injury, reports the BBC. The incident occurred in 2007, when Kyle Bullock tripped in a three-inch deep pothole in Haringey. He was unable to break his fall because of the steep gradient of the road, and he also claims the road was badly lit. He required brain surgery for injuries sustained in his fall, and has been left with epilepsy. He now has daily care needs and…
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