Blackwater Law successfully claimed compensation for Mr Bethell, a 62-year-old cyclist hit by a car, who had serious injuries to his shoulder, elbow and knee as a result.
Posted on 7th February 2025
Figures obtained from a Freedom of Information request to county councils in England have revealed tens of millions of pounds in compensation paid in public liability claims over the last four years to individuals for injuries caused.
A public liability claim is a legal action to get compensation for injuries sustained in a public place. The claim is usually made against a person, company, or in this case, the local authority that was responsible for the accident
The data relates to payments made for injuries between 2020 – 2024, across at least 2,202 individual claims.
Since 2024, councils in England have paid at least £36,379,397 in compensation across these 2,202 claims. Not all councils provided specific compensation amounts for every claim. 2021 was the year in which the highest amount of compensation was paid, with £11,285,835 in compensation paid across 541 public liability claims in that year.
The information released by the councils to Personal Injury Solicitors Blackwater Law revealed the types of claims that members of the public were compensated for. The vast majority of these were categorised as ‘slips, trips, and falls’, with other types of claims including accidents, highway incidents and injuries occurring as a result of a failure of institutional care (such as a school).
The county which settled the highest number of public liability claims resulting in injury was Norfolk County Council. Across these claims, they paid out £2.3 million in compensation. The council that has paid the most in compensation was Hampshire County Council. They paid £5.15 million in compensation to 217 individuals who made a public liability claim for an injury.
Blackwater Law also analysed the rate of settling public liability claims based on the size of the county. Proportionally, Northumberland County Council had the highest rate of claims settled, with 62.4 claims settled over the four years per 100,000 residents. They were by far the highest rate of settled claims. The net closest was again Norfolk County Council, which had a successful claim rate of 23.5 per 100,000 residents.
Personal Injury Lawyer at Blackwater Law Anna Watson commented on the figures, “Each one of these incidents is an individual whose life may have been permanently changed by the injuries they suffered, affecting not only themselves but their friends and family.
Members of the public should feel comfortable and safe when using areas maintained by the council, or when their loved ones are under the care of a council institution.”
