Accidents in Public Places - An Overview

Unfortunately, accidents in public places are common, and all too often someone will be walking along the pavement and trip over a raised paving slab or perhaps a pothole. We all pay taxes for the upkeep of our public areas and are therefore entitled to expect that these areas will be maintained and repaired so that they are safe for us to use.

It is important to realise, however, that the Council are not under a duty to repair and make good every defect in their area as this would be too expensive and hard to achieve. People are expected to be aware of their surroundings and take a certain degree of care. The Council must, however, ensure that there are no 'significant' defects in their area constituting a foreseeable hazard to the public. Whether the defect is 'significant' will need to be considered in each individual case, but by way of example, if a paving slab is raised more than an inch (2.5 cm), it is likely to be considered a significant hazard.

It is important to be aware that even if the defect is deemed to be significant, the Council will not be liable for the accident if they can show that they have an adequate system of inspection and maintenance in place, and the defect was not present at the time of their last inspection. It is, therefore, important that the defect has been present for some time, and this will need to be proved if the case is to be successful. If the defect has been present for a long period of time, a good way of getting evidence to support this is to approach residents in the area, who may be able to confirm that the defect has been present for some time. All too often the Council will not have checked the area as regularly or as thoroughly as they should have, and will, therefore, be liable for the accident.

If you have suffered an accident in a public place it is vitally important that you take clear photographs of the defect, and placing something in or by the defect, such as a tape measure will help indicate the size of it.

It is equally important that you should report the accident to the Council. This will provide evidence to support that your injuries did occur as a result of the defect, and also warn the Council of the defect so they can rectify it, to ensure that it causes no further accidents. The Council may rectify the defect shortly after it is reported, so it is important to take the photographs soon after the accident.

It is not just the Council that owes a duty of care to the public in public places, a water company for example who has created a hazard when undertaking work in the area, will be responsible for any accidents which occur as a result of that hazard. It is therefore important that the claim is brought against the correct party.

Accidents in Public Places - An Overview