A Guide To Making Claims Against The Council For Personal Injury

Last Updated 6th March 2025. In this guide, we will discuss making claims against the council for personal injury compensation. Local councils are responsible for providing a wide range of different services and for the maintenance of public spaces, pavements and some roads. If you have been injured and it wasn’t your fault, you could be eligible to claim compensation.

We will look at the duties of councils, when you could be eligible to make a claim against them for your injuries, and how compensation for those injuries could be calculated. We also look at how a No Win No Fee solicitor could help you with your personal injury claim.

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Am I Eligible To Claim Against The Council For Personal Injury?

If you have been injured in a place owned by the council, you may ask, ‘Am I entitled to a council compensation payout?’ This may be possible if you meet the claims eligibility criteria discussed below.

All those in control of a public space have a duty to ensure that it is reasonably safe for all visitors. Therefore, they must adhere to the provisions of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1975. Failure to meet such standards may result in them breaching their duty of care and causing injuries to visitors.

Local councils are responsible for maintaining the safety of public areas, such as:

Schools
Public parks and playgrounds.
Pavements and roads
Public buildings and leisure facilities such as gyms and swimming pools

If you were injured while visiting a public area owned by the council, you may be eligible to claim against them if:

the council owed you a duty of care
the council breached this duty
this resulted in your injuries

We do not expect you to understand how to sue the council for negligence. Therefore, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our helpful team of advisors. They can give you more information on claims against the council for personal injury and provide examples of compensation figures.

What Are Examples Of Potential Claims Against The Council?

In order to make a personal injury claim against any party, you need to show that they have breached their duty of care to you and that you were injured as a result of this. In the following sections, we look at examples of different circumstances in which you could give rise to claims against the council for personal injury.

Accidents In Playgrounds And Public Parks

Councils have a duty of care to maintain public parks, playgrounds and similar spaces. Whilst it is expected that walkways in parks and playground equipment may be subject to ‘wear and tear’, councils have a duty of care to carry out regular inspections and maintenance.

They should ensure that reasonable steps are taken so that pavements are safe to walk on, hazards such as fallen trees are removed or secured as soon as possible, and playground equipment such as climbing frames or swings are safe to use. If the hazard or defect has been reported to the council and they have had a reasonable amount of time to address this and failed to do so, you may make a compensation claim against them for any injuries suffered.

For example, if you suffered a hip injury due to a bench in a local park collapsing when you sat on it because it was not regularly maintained, you may be able to make a claim.

Accidents In Schools

Local councils are also sometimes responsible for publicly run education and schools. They have sufficient control of school grounds, buildings and outdoor spaces to owe visitors a duty of care. Again, reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that all buildings, facilities, fixtures and fittings are safe for pupils, staff, parents and other persons on school sites. You may claim against a public school where:

They knew of defects in a building which were not addressed leading to someone being injured when a ceiling tile fell on them.
The school was aware that playground equipment, such as a climbing frame, was broken but continued to let children use it, and a child fell, suffering an injury.

Injuries Caused By Potholes Or Pavement Defects

Local authorities, such as councils, are responsible for smaller, local roads which are not maintained by Highways England, and they can also be responsible for defects in the pavement. Potholes could cause car accidents or injuries to vehicle occupants. They, and pavement defects, may also be a trip hazard, causing pedestrians to trip and be injured.

In order to make a council compensation claim for a pothole accident or a defect in the pavement, you need to show that:

The defect presented a danger.
This defect caused your injury.
The council was aware or should have reasonably been aware that the defect was present.

The council may have a defence to this type of case if they have a reasonable system of inspection in place or if they did not have sufficient time to repair the defect after becoming aware of it.

Examples of pothole accidents could include:

A council failed to repair a defect that they knew about in a timely manner. A cyclist may then hit the pothole, come off their bike and suffer a broken ankle.
A pedestrian may trip on the pavement and fall, suffering a broken forearm or tristed ankle. The council did not inspect the pavement regularly, and such an inspection would have led to the defect being repaired.

Slips, Trips And Falls

One question people may ask after being injured in a public place is, “Can I claim against the council for a fall?” If you have fallen in a public place that is controlled by the council and can show their negligent actions caused the accident, you could sue them for damages. You may be able to claim when:

A wet floor in a leisure centre causes you to slip and suffer a head injury. There were no ‘wet floor’ signs present.
Damaged or broken stairs in a council building could lead to someone tripping and falling down the stairs.

These are just a few examples of how a local council could be responsible for a slip or fall in a public place.

Accidents In Council Housing

If you live in council housing, the council has a duty of care to ensure that your home meets certain minimum standards. Where defects, damage or hazards are reported to the local authority, they should take steps to carry out repairs as early as possible. If the council does not affect repairs as soon as possible and you are injured, such as by damaged stairs or flooring, you could sue the council for negligence.

Learn more about how to claim against the council by contacting an advisor today.

How Much Compensation Can I Claim For A Personal Injury?

Now we have looked at when compensation claims against local councils could be made; we will look at how compensation is calculated and how much you could be awarded.

How much compensation you may be awarded for the pain and suffering for your injuries may be calculated by referring to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG provides compensation guidelines for a variety of injuries.

In the table below, we have listed some of these guidelines The first row, however, is not taken from the JCG.

Type Of Injury	Severity	Example Payout
Multiple severe or serious injuries with special damages	Serious to severe	Up to £1,000,000+
Brain damage	Moderate - C - i	£183,190 to £267,340
Foot injury	Severe - D	£51,220 to £85,460
Knee injuries	Severe - A - ii	£63,610 to £85,100
Wrist injury	A	£58,110 to £73,050
Elbow injuries	Severe disabling - A	£47,810 to £66,920
Back injuries	Moderate - B - i	£33,880 to £47,320
Achillees tendon	Most serious - A	In the region of £46,900
Fracture of the nose/ nasal complex	C - i	£12,990 to £28,220
Shoulder injury	Serious	£15,580 to £23,430

Special Damages In Claims Against The Council For Personal Injury

In addition to compensation for your injuries, you could also claim compensation for a variety of different costs and losses associated with your accident. These may include:

Income and earnings that you have lost due to taking time off work because of your injuries.
Medical expenses such as physiotherapy costs and prescription fees.
The cost of travelling to medical appointments.
The costs of adaptations need to be made to your home or your vehicle to accommodate your injuries.

To learn more about making a claim against the council and how a member of our panel of personal injury solicitors could help you, please contact our team.

What Evidence Do I Need In Council Compensation Claims?

Now that we have looked at when you could make a council compensation claim and what you could claim, we will look at how to make a claim against the council. One of the most important factors when making a claim against the council for an injury is being able to show the council’s liability for the accident and your injuries.

Evidence which could help the claims process may include:

Videos of the accident, such as from CCTV or a mobile phone.
Photographs of the accident site and your injuries.
The contact information of anyone who witnessed your accident that could be approached for a statement at a later date.
Medical records detailing your injuries, treatment and prognosis.
A police incident number (if relevant).

To learn more about evidence and the process of making claims against the council for a personal injury, please speak to a member of our team.

Why Claim Against The Council On A No Win No Fee Basis?

The No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel could help with claims against the council for personal injury.

Some of the services our panel of solicitors offer include:

Help with gathering evidence.
Communicating with the defending party.
Negotiating your compensation settlement.
Explaining legal jargon used.

One of the No Win No Fee personal injury solicitors from our panel could work on your case through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means that:

You will not have to pay upfront or ongoing service fees to make a claim.
There are no service fees payable if you do not win.
A success fee is deducted if your claim is successful.

The percentage which a No Win No Fee solicitor may charge as a success fee is legally limited.

Find out more about making compensation claims against local councils on a No Win No Fee basis by contacting our team.

Call 0800 408 7825
Talk to us via our live support chat.
Contact us online.

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Advice On Claims Against The Council For A Personal Injury