If a paving slab becomes loose or raises and causes a lip, it is an obvious tripping hazard. Most people are not looking at their feet when they’re walking along and it is not expected that anyone should be – after all you’d end up walking in to all sorts in front of you!
So if you are injured due to a lip caused by a raised or sunken paving slab then you may be able to make a claim for personal injury compensation.
If it happened on a public highway then it’s highly likely that the responsibility of the paving area falls with the local council or highways agency. It’s normally fairly easy for us to find out exactly which local authority is responsible so you don’t need to worry about looking that up at all.
Whoever is responsible for the area has a duty to have a system of inspection and maintenance where they look out for defects at suitable intervals and rectify them within an effective timeframe. How often an area is inspected is often related to how busy the area is – i.e. a city centre area may be inspected every month whereas a country area may only be inspected at intervals of every 12 months or so.
When a defect is identified it must be rectified or made good within a reasonable timeframe. There is no set definition of what a ‘reasonable timeframe’ is, but it is generally accepted as around eight weeks or so. When it comes to how often an area is inspected it is often down to the council’s interpretation of what should be reasonable which, as I mentioned earlier, is often related to how busy the area is.
So to win a claim we normally need to prove that:
- The responsible authority has failed to either have or adhere to a system of inspection and maintenance
- A defect has been identified but has not been rectified or ‘made good’ within a reasonable timeframe
How we find this is out is normally down to submitting a claim to the other side and asking that they investigate the same. Where they dispute responsibility they should provide us with documentation and evidence to prove that they are not at fault.
Here are the first steps as to what you need to do:
- Take lots of photos that clearly show the depth or height of the defect with a ruler or other measuring device and some distance photos with a nearby landmark to allow the location of the defect to be easily identified
- Seek medical attention – even if you feel like you don’t need to – as it can always help with a claim and it is always best to be on the safe side when it comes to your own health and wellbeing
- Speak to us on 0800 634 7575 BEFORE you report the defect to any local authority!
