When can a claim be made against the Council?
To successfully claim compensation from the Council you will need to prove that the Council has been at fault in law. There is no automatic entitlement to compensation, and just because an incident has happened it does not necessarily mean the Council will be held to blame.
Other Insurance Cover
If you have Home Contents, Buildings or Motor Insurance that would cover your loss/damage, we recommend that you make a claim on the appropriate policy first. This is because settlement will most likely be on a “new for old” basis and you will not need to prove that anyone is at fault for the loss, so it is likely that your claim will be dealt with more quickly. Your insurers may then seek to recover their costs from the Council if they feel the Council has been at fault. A successful recovery by your insurers will mean that your premiums and any no claim discounts are unlikely to be affected.
What information must you provide when you make a claim?
The following information must be provided:
- A clear summary of the facts on which the claim is based including the time and date of the incident.
- An indication of the nature and extent of your injuries or details of any property damage
- Details of any financial loss suffered
- Sufficient other information to enable formal investigations to start e.g. photographs. Any photographsof the incident location should clearly show the defect and surrounding area. Please mark the exact defect with an ‘X’ and show your direction of travel. If photographs are unavailable, you may wish to use online map services to provide the precise location. The nearest house number or street lamp column would also be of assistance.
- Without this information the claim cannot be processed
What happens once you have submitted a claim?
The Insurance and Risk Management Section will acknowledge receipt of your claim within 15 working days and may forward your claim to the Council’s external insurance claims handlers. The
claims handlers will acknowledge receipt within 5 working days.
The Council will investigate the allegations and send a report to the claims handlers.
Claims are always processed as quickly as possible, however, the law allows up to 3 months to investigate personal injury claims and decide whether or not there has been fault on the part of the Council. Whilst there is no such time limit for property only claims, the Council will endeavour to provide a decision on liability within 3 months.
If the claim is for damage to your property the claims handlers will require original receipts or replacement estimates and confirmation of the age of the items. Please be aware that any offer of settlement will not be on a new for old basis and as such will be adjusted for wear and tear.
As well as the information outlined above the claims handlers may also ask you to provide your full name, date of birth and National Insurance number, if not already supplied.
If your claim is for injury, medical evidence will need to be gathered. The claims handlers will forward a form for completion to allow them to approach your GP/hospital for a report. Please be aware that the amount of time it takes to receive the report can vary widely and is something over which they have no control other than to issue regular reminders. You can of course chase the GP/hospital yourself in this instance.
If the GP/hospital report is not sufficient to accurately assess the value of your injuries the claims handlers may have to appoint a consultant who will need to examine you to prepare a comprehensive report. This process can be lengthy and may take a number of months.
The final outcome
Once all of the evidence has been collated and assessed the claims handlers will make a decision based on the legal liability of the Council:
- If it is concluded that there is no liability and the claims handlers are not paying your claim you will receive a letter detailing why. If you wish to discuss this further you need to contact the claims handlers.
- If liability is accepted the claims handlers will make an offer of compensation, in writing, which they consider will accurately reflect an appropriate level of compensation in the circumstances.
Fraud
Any claim that is found to have been fraudulently intimated or exaggerated, whether during the processing of the claim or subsequently, may be passed to the Police or Crown Prosecution Service and may be subject to a criminal prosecution.