For
various accidental claims, the Councils are spending heavy money for paying out
the victims. The average claim cost comes around £1800, which is more than a
huge drain on local authority resources. In last four years, trips and slips
caused by uneven paving stones tops the list of compensation claims and have cost
one council more than £2.5 million pounds. Another city council paid out over
five million pounds on compensation during an eight year period. Apart from the
compensation claims, there are other costs like the legal fees, and employee
time which comes under the base cost for the council.
Even
though many councils claim that it is not an automatic right to receive
compensation if you have been the victim of an accident, but the number of
claims keep on increasing. People don’t want to lose their chance of claiming
the money. With the high number of legal companies offering 'no-win no fee'
deals, people feel they can take a chance and see what they get. There are also
unscrupulous individuals who won’t mind submitting fraudulent claims in order
to make some cash.
But
genuinely, if an accident is caused by tripping up on a paving stone or a
pothole which sticks up more than an inch above the rest of the path, then claims
can be made against the Council. All councils can be valuable to these
situations unless they keep a strict watch on the state of their public
highways and pavements.