An article published on the Daily Telegraph’s website this week has revealed some of the most bizarre compensation claims that have resulted in payouts from UK councils.
Among the accident claims submitted are a £3.95 compensation sum paid to a person by Barnet council for ‘damage to trousers as a result of dry cleaning’, along with a ten pound payout to somebody that hit their head on a low sign.
The data, which was uncovered as the result of a Freedom of Information request, also showed examples of a council in Canterbury paying twenty pounds to a person for damage sustained to their shoe, or Aberdeenshire compensation claims to the tune of eight pounds for an unexplained ‘grass cutting incident’.
Other minor common minor claims included small sums for bruises and grazes as a result of falling over obstacles owned by the councils, along with several stained clothes cases and even payouts for broken garden lights. Even if the council failed to admit responsibility for the incident, there were still many examples of a token gesture being paid out through goodwill.
Whilst the incidents themselves are minor and the payouts small, the legal costs associated with processing and defending against a claim could cost local authorities as much as three thousand pounds per case to dispute their responsibility.
However, councils also have a duty of care towards their residents to ensure they provide a safe, secure and well-maintained environment in which to live, and Britons have an entitlement to claim against an avoidable injury caused through their local authority’s negligence.
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