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Compensation for foot broken on sunken paving slab

Personal injury specialist, Tracey Dickinson, has won £3,000 in compensation from North Yorkshire County Council for a woman who broke her foot on a sunken paving slab.

sunken paving slab

Tracey Dickinson

Ms W was holidaying in Filey at the time.  She knew the town well as she had been going there for years and visited around three to four times a year.

Sunken paving slab causes accident

One afternoon, Ms W was walking through the town centre when she saw a man running towards her.  She moved to one side to let him pass, but as she did so, her foot went into a depression in the pavement, caused by a sunken paving slab.  She managed to keep her balance and did not fall, but she felt her foot crack.  As she was passing Boots, she hobbled inside and took advice from a pharmacist.  Ms W had her foot bandaged and took some painkillers.

As Ms W was on holiday with her son and mother, she continued with her three-day break, even though she was in a lot of pain and her foot and leg became really swollen.  When she returned home, Ms W attended a drop-in clinic where her foot was x-rayed. She was told it was broken and was referred to Calow Centre in Chesterfield where a boot was applied, which she wore for six weeks.

Council denies accident caused by sunken paving slab

Ms W contacted Graysons and Tracey took on her case. Tracey pursued the council as it was responsible for the pavement.  The council denied the claim, saying it had inspected the pavement a couple of weeks before Ms W’s accident and it hadn’t identified any hazards.  However, a witness who owned one of the shops just at the site of the sunken slab, confirmed that it had, in fact, been there for around three years.  The council said it had also inspected the spot where the accident took place just after Ms W’s accident, and again identified no hazard.  A further inspection around about one year after the accident identified the hazard and it was repaired.

Council settles four days before hearing

Tracey issued proceedings and the case was due to go to court.  However, four days before the trial, the council decided to settle the case and Tracey was able to negotiate a settlement of £3,000.

Local authorities are responsible for the safety of people using roads and paths that they maintain, so if you have been injured as a result of a defect in such a place, you may be entitled to receive compensation.  Contact our experts now to arrange a free of charge meeting in which you can discuss your case.  You can also find out more about accidents that happen on public footpaths and highways on our website.

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