Whom to make a claim for injury.

workingboy

Just a simple question.

Who do you make a claim against for injury and loss of earnings from a fall caused by a hole left by a removed post on a pavement in a town.

The local council of which department or let a accident claim firm handle it.

Thanks

dacouch

What are your injuries?

Why was the post missing?

workingboy

A friend of mine, fell and injured her shoulder and off work for a week at least.

No idea why the post is removed while there are 5 others left in place. The post was removed, but the hole left was not filled in to make a flush surface. The edging around the hole is not damaged/crumbled if the post was Knocked down.

This causing her ankle to twist and fall onto her shoulder. Doctor signed her off from work as she is unfit to work where she cannot move/lift her arm without severe pain.

The posts seem if they are placed to prevent vehicles from mounting or parking on the pavement outside a few shops.

ThumbRemote

You make a claim against the council. It's almost certainly better to let an expert firm handle it; they will have a better knowledge of your chances of success (or otherwise), and know the correct legal procedure to follow.

shaun_from_Africa

I agree with ThumbRemote about getting specialist advice and help.

It's not just a case of showing that the post was missing, what your friend will need to do is to prove that the council were aware that it was missing.
It's a bit like claiming for damage to a car caused by a pothole. All the council have to do is to state that the hole was recently caused and that they were unaware of it, hence they had no opportunity to carry out repair or to cordon the area off.

InsideInsurance

You claim from the council, that bit is almost a certain.

The question really that you are asking is if you deal with it yourself or pass it to a claims management firm. For anything more than a very minor injury you are probably best off using a solicitor.

If you have Legal Expenses cover on your Home insurance this normally covers a solicitor for trips/ falls type claims and may be one of your better options. Alternatively look for a no win no fee solicitor but check what fee they charge YOU if you do win (its no win, no fee not simply no fee). Many retain up to 25% of your winnings since the changes in the laws last year but it does vary