Bradford Council pays out £3.3m for trips and falls (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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Council defends level of claims
7:00am Monday 12th November 2012 in News
By Jo Winrow, City Hall Reporter
Bradford Council pays out £3.3m for trips and falls
Bradford Council paid out £3.3 million over the last three years in compensation to people tripping and falling, with the largest single payout reaching more than £282,000, figures reveal.
The total amount involves 241 claims. A further 1,095 claims were knocked back by the authority as it defended its highway repair regime and robust winter maintenance policy.
Over the three years in question the overall amount paid out has risen, from £819,359 between October 2009 and September 2010, to £1,013,452 the following year, and reached £1,306,055 this year.
But the number of claims and the amount the Council has accepted liability for has dropped in the last year, from 524 claims with 91 covered last year, to 366 claims and 60 of them covered in the following 12 months.
In every year the most common type of claims relate to pavement trips, where 193 claims were made in 2009-2010, with 41 being paid at a cost of £406,959, while 152 were rejected.
Last year pavement trips cost the Council £649,447 with a total of 230 claims, 51 of which were paid out on. This year, this figure rose to £767,532, with 264 claims, 41 of which were successful.
This higher figure can be explained by the largest payout for a complex claim dating back to 2003, which was finally settled in July 2012. The payment involved £198,824 in damages, which included a high proportion for lost earnings, and £83,519 for the claimant’s legal costs.
Andy Whelan, the Council’s principal engineer, said: “We have a robust inspection and repair regime of the district's highways and this has helped to reduce both the number of claims received and the number of successful claims against the authority.
The Council also confirmed that it will try to defend claims as robustly as it can by ensuring that the location is the Council’s responsibility, checking that the highways have been inspected at the prescribed interval, and ensuring that the third party payments are reasonable.
The focus of any claim is normally in relation to the fabric of the road, and the Council is not generally liable for the accumulation of snow, ice or debris on the highway.
Comments(19)
angry bradfordian
says...
8:01am Mon 12 Nov 12
The pavements weren't designed to take it. I was reading recently that Manchester Council have started to rip up stone pavements in the City Centre and concreting them to avoid people claiming. Very sad.
modman61
says...
8:13am Mon 12 Nov 12
mad matt
says...
8:51am Mon 12 Nov 12
webess
says...
8:54am Mon 12 Nov 12
modman61 wrote:80% of people who claimed were told to get lost and not heard of again so it does appear there's a lot of chancers out there
Unfortunately this is the culture we live in. "Where there is a blame there is a claim"
johnhem
says...
9:17am Mon 12 Nov 12
tinytoonster
says...
9:38am Mon 12 Nov 12
hypocrites!!
yezboss
says...
10:20am Mon 12 Nov 12
Albion.
says...
11:00am Mon 12 Nov 12
thatsnotmyname wrote:Haven't you seen the ads? "have you had an accident, trip or fall? You should ring ******* and it won't cost you a penny!
So are these people saying they have tripped and fallen and got a doctor to say they have injured themseleves? Can someone explain how it works please.
wrongsideofthetracks
says...
11:09am Mon 12 Nov 12
Knowing the history and practices of certain sections of the city's community I would hazard a guess at a good number illustrated by the massive increase in claims over the years.
craftykhan
says...
11:10am Mon 12 Nov 12
tinytoonster wrote:totally agree the media is responsible for most of the claims along with the lawyers.. i bet most of the people who make these claims are fulltime fraudsters and don't pay a single penny in rates or taxes...
the best bit is to the right of the story we have PAID adverts that the t&a allows which are for accident claims!!!
hypocrites!!
angry bradfordian
says...
12:07pm Mon 12 Nov 12
craftykhan wrote:I'm even more disgusted by my local GP waiting room displaying adverts for no win, no fee lawyers. Their services advertised included medical negligence claims!
tinytoonster wrote:totally agree the media is responsible for most of the claims along with the lawyers.. i bet most of the people who make these claims are fulltime fraudsters and don't pay a single penny in rates or taxes...
the best bit is to the right of the story we have PAID adverts that the t&a allows which are for accident claims!!!
hypocrites!!
scanipoos
says...
12:16pm Mon 12 Nov 12
Albion.
says...
12:22pm Mon 12 Nov 12
scanipoos wrote:I think you can, if you can prove it.
Shame we cant claim for damage's to our vehicles for some of the rather high bump ramps put onto roads . Furnace road, low moor being one of them
Andy2010
says...
12:51pm Mon 12 Nov 12
Albion. wrote:Indeed you can but its a legal minefield and not advisable unless you are prepared to stump up the legal fees should you lose
scanipoos wrote: Shame we cant claim for damage's to our vehicles for some of the rather high bump ramps put onto roads . Furnace road, low moor being one of themI think you can, if you can prove it.
Prisoner Cell Block A
says...
12:53pm Mon 12 Nov 12
angry bradfordian wrote:A&E at BRI have the posters up too. It is ridiculous.
craftykhan wrote:I'm even more disgusted by my local GP waiting room displaying adverts for no win, no fee lawyers. Their services advertised included medical negligence claims!
tinytoonster wrote:totally agree the media is responsible for most of the claims along with the lawyers.. i bet most of the people who make these claims are fulltime fraudsters and don't pay a single penny in rates or taxes...
the best bit is to the right of the story we have PAID adverts that the t&a allows which are for accident claims!!!
hypocrites!!
I visited A&E with a dislocated shoulder, within 2 hours of my arrival home I was called by ambulance chasing no-win no-fee types. How did they know I had had an accident? Could only be a heads up from BRI staff. This runs deep and is big business.
Saltaire Bantam
says...
4:01pm Mon 12 Nov 12
damraf
says...
5:15pm Mon 12 Nov 12
yezboss
says...
7:53pm Mon 12 Nov 12
A) they were aware of the defect.
B) they failed to rectify the issue and
C) they had sufficient notice to do so.
thatsnotmyname says...
7:47am Mon 12 Nov 12