You may not know this but it is actually very difficult to win a claim for personal injury compensation for a defect on the roads or on the pavements. In fact, when it comes to accidents in public areas, it is commonly an uphill struggle as the law is very much on the side of the local government and authorities.
But when you have our expert team of highly qualified and experienced injury lawyers fighting your corner, you can have a much better chance at winning an award.
The reason it is so hard to claim is because the local authority only needs to have a system of reasonable inspection and maintenance in place, as well as proof that they have adhered to it, to successfully defend your claim. They have a special defence in law under Section 58 of The Highways Act which can grant them practical immunity from paying you out.
We always say that you must make sure to instruct a specialist personal injury lawyer directly for the very best chance at winning a claim, and our hard fought battle as exampled in this case can be obvious proof of its importance.
Initially in this case the local council alleged they were not responsible for the land. From time to time it may be under the jurisdiction of another more local or wider authority, or under the care of a private organisation. We must investigate all avenues so we did indeed investigate the case with the alternative people but they too denied liability for the incident.
After further investigation in to the history and ownership of the land, we were satisfied that it was under the jurisdiction of the first council we had pursued. When we wrote to them they gave their standard reply to confirm that their liability decision remained unchanged, but they also disclosed records and documents for inspection and maintenance.
When those sorts of documents are disclosed we are often left facing a much harder battle and many lawyers would stop the case there and then. A lot of firms are not confident in spending the money on the case when they feel there is too much risk – but we as specialist injury lawyers have a lot of experience and plenty of knowhow in getting round these bumps in the road.
The council tried to say that the defect wasn’t what they would have deemed as reasonable enough to repair, as well as alleging that the area was regularly inspected and maintained. However, having considered all the evidence, we were content in liaising with our barrister to show there were holes in their argument that we could rely upon.
We applied pressure on the opponent by issuing court proceedings and they came back to us with an offer to settle the case which our client was happy to accept. Many lawyers would have not been prepared to fund the medical evidence and continue funding the investigations on a ‘no win no fee‘ when they see a standard defence, let alone issue court proceedings; but we are not like most other lawyers.
Our tenacity at trying to get not only a result but often a better a result is well known in our industry. If you want the best advice and the best chance of the best results, and a lawyer who knows how best to fight your corner, call our dedicated claims helpline 0800 634 7575 today.
We make things easy for you and tough for your opponent!
