Wigan council pays over £1m in personal injury claims

It has been discovered that nationally, there has been a 40% increase in the number of personal injury claims related to uneven paths.

Regionally, however, it has been revealed that in the last year alone, Wigan council has had to cough up more than £1 million for personal injury claims over wounds sustained on roads and pavements. The council settled public liability claims to the value of £1.06 million.

Claimants launched legal battles over a string of complaints ranging from pavement trips to damage to cars caused by potholes.

A spokeswoman for the council said that reforms are under-way in an attempt to reduce the number accident claims and the amount spent on compensation awards.

"We have [...] invested in pavement and road maintenance to ensure that fewer claims are made. This combination of better highway maintenance and a tough approach to fraud is now leading to a significant drop in the number of claims being made," said the spokeswoman.

It is thought that the payout total represents just 197 individual cases often dating back many years. 90 claims were more than four years old and two more than 11 years old.

The spokeswoman added: "It takes time to settle claims since the council and its legal advisors do not simply accept the word of the claimant and require a high standard of proof.

"Genuine claims will always be treated sympathetically but our policy is to investigate all claims made to ensure that the council taxpayer is not being cheated by false allegations.

"This involves the council working closely with their insurers and specialist solicitors and includes checking evidence, the claimants and their witnesses."

The spokeswoman is speaking specifically about cases that have been filed, but then removed due to fraudulent behaviour.

"There have recently been a number of cases where people have withdrawn claims when they realised we'd uncovered evidence of potential fraud."
Solid ground for a claim

The council has seen everything when it comes to a compensation claim and 417 claims have been made by the general public over the past year, concerning injuries from vehicle damage because of potholes to tripping up on a raised flag stone.

One claim for compensation was made because of infestation, which caused several injuries and damages to personal property, whereas another unusual claim made included one member of the public claiming for jaw injury because of playground equipment.

More common claims were made from injuries due to burst pipes, defective premises, defective supervision and council teams carrying out work on roads.

Most claims were filed because of poorly maintained pavements, with 122 claims being made regarding this problem. Path issues included defects to kerbs and paving. Damaged vehicles drove in 39 claims.

Problems with carriageways created 19 claims because of damaged vehicles and injuries. Five claims were filed because of structural damage or injury as a result of tree roots.

43 claims were made concerning damage to equipment or goods caused by contractors working on underground services.