This guide aims to explore when a claim against Calderdale Borough Council could be justified. Your local council owes you a duty of care to take reasonable steps to reduce or remove the risk of known hazards in places they control. If they fail to do so and you are caused harm due to their negligence, you may be eligible to seek compensation. We will explore the duty of care you’re owed and the legislation that governs a council’s responsibility further in our guide.
Can I claim against Calderdale Borough Council?
Additionally, we will explore different ways you could be caused harm if your local council failed to uphold their duty of care. Furthermore, we will look at the steps you could take following an accident that caused you harm.
You may find it beneficial to seek legal representation but are apprehensive of the costs involved in doing so. If so, we could help by providing information on the services the solicitors from our panel could offer on a No Win No Fee basis.
For more information, you can contact our experienced team of advisors for free legal advice. To get in touch:
- Call us on 0800 408 7827
- Contact us via our online form.
- Use the live chat feature on our page for instant answers.
Select a Section
- What Is A Personal Injury Claim Against The Council?
- Can I Make A Data Breach Claim Against The Council?
- How To Sue A Council For Housing Disrepair
- Can I Hire A A No Win No Fee Solicitor To Represent A Claim Against Calderdale Borough Council?
- Making A Claim In Time
- Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Calderdale Borough Council
- More Resources On Making A Claim Against Calderdale Borough Council
What Is A Personal Injury Claim Against The Council?
To make a personal injury claim, you must prove the following:
- A third party owed you a duty of care
- They breached the duty of care they owed you
- You sustained physical or psychological harm due to a third party breaching their duty of care.
The person in control of a public space has a duty of care to take reasonable steps to prevent harm to those visiting the space. This duty is covered in the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 and extends to your local council. If your local council fails to uphold their duty of care, this could cause an accident that sees you becoming harmed; potentially with a broken rib or broken ankle.
There are many ways you could suffer an injury in a public place. For example, you could be involved in a slip, trip or fall accident, where you trip over a tree root bulging through the pavement. As a result, you suffer from a broken foot or broken forearm.
It’s important to note that not all accidents that cause harm lead to claims. You must prove that you were caused harm as a result of the local council’s negligence. Negligence is the breach of duty of care.
Call us to find out when a claim against Calderdale Borough Council could be justified.
Calculating Personal Injury Settlements
When you make a successful personal injury claim, you will receive general damages within your settlement. Any mental and physical suffering that affected your quality of life as a direct result of the injury may be compensated under general damages.
With this in mind, we have created a table of compensation brackets for different injuries taken from the 16th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which legal professionals often use to help value injuries. How much you receive may vary from the amount shown, so please only use these figures as a guide.
| Injury | Notes | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Back Injuries | (a) Severe (ii) - Orthopaedic injury to the back, which could include nerve root damage. | £74,160 - £88,430 |
| Back Injuries | (b) Moderate (i) - Examples of injuries include a compression fracture to the lumbar vertebrae which will cause constant pain and discomfort. | £27,760 - £38,780 |
| Ankle Injuries | (b) Severe - May need a period in plaster, or pins and plates may have been inserted. This could result in scarring and may require special footwear. | £31,310 - £50,060 |
| Ankle Injuries | (c) Moderate - Ligamentous tears or fractures in the ankle with a potential risk for osteoarthritis in the future as well as other issues. | £13,740 - £26,590 |
| Leg Injuries | (b) Severe (iv) - Moderate injuries are included in this bracket, such as complicated fractures and severe crush injuries. They generally affect one limb. | £27,760 - £39,200 |
| Leg Injuries | (c) Less serious (i) -Fractures with an incomplete recovery are included in this bracket. | £17,960 - £27,760 |
| Wrist Injuries | (b) Injury leading to a permanent and significant disability with some useful remaining movement. | £24,500 - £39,170 |
| Wrist Injuries | (c) - Injuries that are less severe but that still cause a permanent disability with ongoing pain and stiffness. | £12,590 - £24,500 |
| Shoulder Injuries | (b) Serious - Cases where the shoulder is dislocated causing pain in the shoulder, neck and elbow. Also, includes weakness of grip and restricted movement in the shoulder. | £12,770 - £19,200 |
| Shoulder Injuries | (e) The clavicle is fractured. Amount awarded will depend on factors such as whether symptoms are temporary or not as well as other factors. | £5,150 - £12,240 |
Additionally, you may also be awarded special damages in your settlement. They seek to cover the financial losses caused by your injuries, both present and future. It could cover:
- Medical expenses
- Travel expenses
- Loss of past and future earnings
Furthermore, to be awarded special damages, you must provide evidence. For example, you could provide payslips or bank statements.
Can I Make A Data Breach Claim Against A Council?
A personal data breach involves a security incident that leads to the destruction, loss or alteration of your personal information. This can happen accidentally or unlawfully. Furthermore, it could lead to personal information being accessed or disclosed with authorisation.
Personal data can include any information that can be used to identify you such as, your name, personal email and postal address. You should be informed by the organisation responsible within 72 hours of the breach happening if your rights and freedoms were affected.
As a data controller, your local council must adhere to data protection legislation such as the updated version of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). A data controller is responsible for setting the purpose for processing your personal data. The DPA and UK GDPR set out their responsibilities for protecting your personal data. This also extends to data processors who act on behalf of the data controller.
There may be instances where a data controller or processor fails to adhere to data protection law. If you can prove your personal data was compromised due to their failings causing you financial loss or psychological harm, you may be able to seek compensation.
For example, an organisation may have failed to provide sufficient staff training about data protection. As a result, this could lead to a human error data breach such as sending an email to the wrong address.
For more guidance about when a personal data breach claim against Calderdale Borough Council could be justified, call us on the number above.
How To Sue A Council For Housing Disrepair
If you live in housing owned by the council then the council will be acting as your landlord. As such, they owe a duty of care under The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. This outlines the responsibilities they must uphold as your landlord.
Examples of the responsibilities your landlord has, can include:
- Ensuring your home meets fire safety regulations.
- Dealing with damp and mould issues within your home.
- Dealing with any wiring issues.
- Maintaining gas, electric and water.
For free legal advice, call our team. They can advise whether a housing disrepair claim against Calderdale Borough Council could be possible.
Can I Hire A No Win No Fee Solicitor To Represent A Claim Against Calderdale Borough Council?
No Win No Fee agreements can be a way to fund legal representation when choosing to make a personal injury claim. There are different types, one of which is called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). The solicitors from our panel can represent your claim under a CFA, if it meets the relevant criteria.
As part of a CFA, you will not be asked to pay any ongoing or upfront fees for the services your solicitor has provided you.
If your claim fails, you will also not be required to pay them for their services. However, if your claim wins, your solicitor will take a success fee out of your compensation. This success fee is capped by law.
To find out whether a solicitor from our panel could represent your claim on this basis, get in touch using the details below.
Making A Claim In Time
There are different time limitations for different types of claims.
- Personal injury claims – You, generally, have 3 years to start your claim from the date of the accident or the date you connected your injuries with negligence.
- Data breach claims – You generally have 6 years to start a data breach claim. This is reduced to 1 year when you claim against a public body.
- Housing disrepair claims – You could have between 3 or 6 years to start your claim, depending on the type of housing disrepair claim you wish to make. For further guidance regarding your claim, get in touch with us today.
There may be exceptions to certain time limits. For more information, get in touch on the number above.
Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Calderdale Borough Council
If you have evidence that you sustained harm due to a third party breaching their duty of care, get in touch with our team. They can advise on when a claim against Calderdale Borough Council could be justified.
For more information, you can:
- Call us on 0800 408 7827
- Contact us via our online form.
- Use the live chat feature on our page for instant answers.
More Resources On Making A Claim Against Calderdale Borough Council
In this section, we have provided additional resources.
More guides:
- How to sue for an injury at a bus stop or bus station.
- How to sue for a concussion
- I got hurt at a museum, can I sue?
- How To Sue Kirklees Borough Council
Additionally, if you are looking for further information:
- Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents – Our Vision
- Shelter – What we do
- NHS – Can Damp and Mould Affect My Health?
We hope this guide on when a claim against Calderdale Borough Council could be justified has helped. If you need any other information, call us on the number above.
Article by ROB
Edited by MIT