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Councils could face flurry of snow fall compensation claims

2:00pm Monday 4th January 2010 in


Snow will remain an issue for councils well into the new year according to personal injury specialists – whether we see any more drops of the white stuff or not.

Lawyers are predicting that the council could see a raft of claims for injuries incurred on icy roads and treacherous pavements.

Hundreds of people had to go into hospital after falling on ice in Sussex earlier this month after roads and pavements were left ungritted following a cold snap and heavy snow.

Some are expected to try to sue the local authorities for thousands of pounds in compensation for the injuries they suffered.

Trevor Henley, the head of insurance litigation at Healy's LLP in Old Steine, Brighton, said the firm had received more than two dozen inquiries from victims within days of the snow falling.

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said all personal injury claims submitted to the council would be considered "on their individual merits".

Comments(10)

scott2 says...
2:32pm Mon 4 Jan 10

Lets hope they throw out any cases where people weren't at least doing their bit in ensuring they didn't slip over (wearing suitable footwear, not going out unless it was necessarily etc).

All this means is that the council will have less money to fix the problem in future, which means every year we'll have people slipping over and suing.

Great!

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madamant says...
2:42pm Mon 4 Jan 10

That'll teach me to stay indoors... could do with some extra cash. Is it really this easy to get some?

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Tye says...
3:25pm Mon 4 Jan 10

Much as I despise these sort of claims normally I must say I hope they will REALLY HURT an imbecilic council.
IF they are short of money then why did they give an official half a million quid for no real reason or what about all those directors on £100k PA - If they mention comparisons with industry I'd gladly point out Disneyland comparison - a cloud cuckoo land apparently but the ultimate business that is show where If there are issues in the park - not enough cleaners to keep the place spotless for instance or snow everyone gets out of their office to help rectify the issue

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Tye says...
3:25pm Mon 4 Jan 10

Much as I despise these sort of claims normally I must say I hope they will REALLY HURT an imbecilic council.
IF they are short of money then why did they give an official half a million quid for no real reason or what about all those directors on £100k PA - If they mention comparisons with industry I'd gladly point out Disneyland comparison - a cloud cuckoo land apparently but the ultimate business that is show where If there are issues in the park - not enough cleaners to keep the place spotless for instance or snow everyone gets out of their office to help rectify the issue

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Voice of Unreason says...
4:17pm Mon 4 Jan 10

Tye wrote:
Much as I despise these sort of claims normally I must say I hope they will REALLY HURT an imbecilic council. IF they are short of money then why did they give an official half a million quid for no real reason or what about all those directors on £100k PA - If they mention comparisons with industry I'd gladly point out Disneyland comparison - a cloud cuckoo land apparently but the ultimate business that is show where If there are issues in the park - not enough cleaners to keep the place spotless for instance or snow everyone gets out of their office to help rectify the issue
Couldn't have put it better myself, Tye.
I wonder how much gritting and salting you could do with £500,000?
I too despise the money grabbing bar stewards who make these sort of claims though.

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kkj says...
5:10pm Mon 4 Jan 10

I wonder whether the Argus sought the views of these litigation specialists, or whether the litigation specialists volunteered them. I also wonder who decided it was newsworthy.

To those people who are urging people to sue the council, where do you think the council is going to get the money from to settle any law suits? Thats right, US! Please put brain in gear before posting any more 'helpful' advice.

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Old Dog says...
7:13pm Mon 4 Jan 10

We're not being told the truth. The lack of gritting action is countrywide this year. My local council tell me that there has been 'a change of gritting policy', but won't explain further. I guess it's good old 'Government advice' that's responsible. What's a few broken bones and insurance claims compared to the huge Government deficit?

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TheInsider says...
8:05pm Mon 4 Jan 10

Another ten per cent added to this year's council tax and more cuts to services for children and the elderly to cover solicitors costs and claims.
Great. Does this local solicitor expect us to cheer him on.

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banneofhove says...
10:51pm Mon 4 Jan 10

Brilliant - we'll enjoy paying for this in our Councill Tax. If they couldn't stand up properly, perhaps these potential litigants should have stayed indoors. How can the Council treat every last square inch of Brighton and Hove?

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Darling2 says...
2:16am Tue 5 Jan 10

Ordinarily such claims are morally repugnent. In this instance the ineptness of the Tory administration couldn't have been worse. Did they think people wouldn't have to leave their homes for days on end? Even for the fit it was a nightmare so I hope BHCC learn the financial consequences of failing to do what they and the Officers draw a salary for each month, and that is to simply look after the town 365 days a year.

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