Council pays out £750k in personal injury compensation

Posted 01/02/2012

Figures have been released showing Stoke-on-Trent has paid out close to £750,000 in personal injury compensation over the course of the last three years.The largest settlement by the local authority totalled over £260,000 and went to a woman who broke her ankle when she slipped on a new carpet tile, reports the Sentinel.Two other payments more than £100,000 were made to individuals who fell over on ice.Councillor Sarah Hill, cabinet member for finance at the city council, said: “We take all such claims very seriously and they are investigated thoroughly by our insurers.”She added personal injury compensation is only paid out by the organisation when it believes it is a valid claim.Claire Hockey, the mother of six-year-old Harley Chivers of East Side Row, Cwmtillery, told the South Wales Argus last month that she is considering launching a claim against Blaenau Gwent Council after a wall collapsed on the boy and resulted in him suffering a broken arm.