Press Release

Local Hammersmith man wins compensation after fall in street

 

Our client, a local Hammersmith resident has settled his claim for compensation for £9,200, when he tripped and fell over defective paving on a residential street. Our client sustained the breakage and loss of 2 front teeth and cuts and bruising to his face in the fall, which was caused by badly broken paving. Our client had to undergo extensive dental work over a period of months.

The Defendant Highway Authority was the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, who were eventually forced to admit that they were responsible for not fulfilling their legal obligations under the Highway Act. However, they still disputed that our client should be entitled to compensation, as they argued that he was 50% responsible for his injuries, since he was aware of the defective paving prior to his fall.

Our client had initially pursued the claim by representing himself against the Council. The insurers for the Council made an offer to settle his claim at £5,580, which our client accepted. However, the insurers for the Council confirmed that they had in fact made a mistake and forgot to deduct 50% (for contributory negligence) and confirmed an offer of £2,790 in settlement. Our client then sought legal advice.

We issued court proceedings on our client’s behalf against the Council and negotiated a reduction of contributory negligence at 20% on our clients part. Subsequently, we negotiated settlement without a final court hearing taking place.

Margaret Durbal of Hubbard Pegman and Whitney LLP who acted for the claimant had this to say of the case "This has been a difficult time for our client who has shown patience and determination in fighting his claim against the Council. Hopefully, this case will act as a warning to the Council that it should act quickly to repair defective pavements when defects are reported to them and prevent other persons from suffering serious injuries and losses."