Dudley Borough Council - How To Sue For Compensation

If you have a valid compensation claim against Dudley Borough Council, this guide could help. We explain the circumstances under which you could be owed compensation for harm, including housing disrepair, personal injury and data breaches.

If you’ve been negatively affected because Dudley Council breached their duty of care towards you, you may be able to claim. You could claim for both psychological and physical injuries you’ve sustained.

Claim against Dudley Borough Council guide

Our team of advisors are on hand waiting to give you free legal advice about claiming. They can offer a no-obligation assessment of the validity and value of your claim.

If your claim is valid, they can connect you to a solicitor from our panel who can work on your case. They may be able to begin working on your claim on a No Win No Fee basis.

You can get in touch with our friendly team of advisers to discuss the claims process by:

Calling them on 0800 408 7827 to have a chat about your situation.
Filling in our contact form
Chatting with an adviser on our live chat pop-up box for a reply straight away.

Select a Section

An Introduction To Personal Injury Claims Against The Local Council
Filing Data Breach Compensation Claims Against A Local Council
What Evidence Do I Need To Make Housing Disrepair Claims Against A Local Council?
Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim Against Dudley Borough Council?
The Three Year Personal Injury Claims Time Limit
Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Dudley Borough Council
More Resources On Making A Claim Against Dudley Borough Council

An Introduction To Personal Injury Claims Against The Council

The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 states that the person or party in control of a public place has a duty of care towards members of the public. They need to act in a way that ensures the safety of those using the space for the intended purpose.

If they fail to uphold this duty of care and you’re injured as a result, you may be able to claim. Here are some examples of circumstances that could lead to personal injury claims against the council:

Slip or trip accident– This type of accident can occur as a result of a number of different hazards, including pavement defects, tree roots and manholes.
Defects in public places – Examples of this could be broken swings, a broken park bench, or a broken play area.
Road traffic accidents- In some cases, a road traffic accident could be caused by negligence on the part of the council. For example, a pothole or poorly maintained road surface could cause a crash on the road.

If you have proof that you’ve suffered an injury due to the council’s negligence, you can chat with our advisers today. They’ll be able to tell you whether you have a claim against Dudley Borough Council for the harm you’ve experienced.

Potential Personal Injury Compensation Payouts

Some articles include a personal injury claims calculator to illustrate how much you could be owed for your injuries. Instead of including one in this guide, we’ve created a compensation table to show how much compensation some injuries may be worth.

The figures are taken from the latest Judicial College Guidelines. This is a publication that outlines guideline compensation brackets for a wide range of injuries. However, please be aware that the actual amount of compensation you receive may vary.

Injury:	Severity:	Compensation:
Injuries to the Pelvis and Hips	Severe (i)	£73,580 to £122,860
Injuries to the Pelvis and Hips	Moderate (i)	£24,950 to £36,770
Mental anguish		£4,380
Leg Injuries	Severe (ii)	£51,460 to £85,600
Leg Injuries	Moderate	£26,050 to £36,790
Arm Injuries	Severe	£90,250 to £122,860
Arm Injuries	Injuries Resulting in Permanent and Substantial Disablement	£36,770 to £56,180

Compensation can be made up of general and special damages. The figures in the table above represent general damages. The awarded bracket depends on how severe the injury is and how your quality of life has been affected.

General damages can compensate you for the psychological injuries you have sustained as well as the physical ones. For example, you could suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after an accident at work.

Special damages compensate for the financial impact the injury’s had on you. For example, you may have suffered a loss of earnings due to taking time off work to recover from your injuries. Alternatively, you may have had to pay for treatment that you could not get on the NHS.

If you’d like to know more about what a claim against Dudley Borough Council could consist of, speak with a member of our team today.

Filing Data Breach Compensation Claims Against A Local Council

The UK GDPR is the regime that outlines how organisations must process personal data. It’s based on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the updated version of the Data Protection Act (2018).

The UK GDPR states that organisations processing your personal data must adhere to the key principles of the UK GDPR. They also must not process data without a lawful basis for doing so. Personal data is any data that can be used, either in isolation or when combined with other data, to identify you.

Here are some examples of how a local council data breach could occur:

E-mail sent to the wrong recipient. If the email contains personal data, this could cause you harm. For example, if your bank details are contained in the email, your money could be stolen.
Papers containing personal data that are thrown away in a bin instead of being securely shredded.
Loss of an unencrypted device containing personal data.

The below table includes statistics from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) outlining some local government data security incident trends in Quarter 1 2021/22.

As you can see, the most common data incident included in this graph was data being emailed to the incorrect recipient, with 40 incidents reported. On the other hand, the least common data breach was a failure to use Blind Carbon Copy (BCC), with 4 incidents.

In order to make a data breach claim against Dudley Borough Council, you must have sufficient evidence that the council’s failings allowed the breach to happen. You’d also need to show that the breach caused you emotional or financial harm.

Whether the data breach occurs by accident or on purpose, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can still fine the local council for a data breach. However, the ICO cannot award you compensation.

What Evidence Do I Need To Make Housing Disrepair Claims Against A Local Council?

If you live in a rented house where the landlord is the council, they have a duty of care to fix any issues you experience in the house. This is set out in the Defective Premises Act 1972. You can also make a claim against a housing association if you’re harmed because they fail to fix any issues that you bring to them.

Some examples of housing disrepair could be mould caused by damp, a broken boiler, issues with water, gas, and electricity, and issues with the exterior of the house. It’s the council’s responsibility to fix these issues, and you may be able to make a claim if they don’t.

In order to claim compensation, you will need to have brought the issue to the council. If you did not tell them about an issue that later injured you or made you ill, then you will not be able to claim.

Here are examples of what evidence you can provide to sue your local council for housing disrepair:

Photos – It’s important to take photos of any visible issues in the house. For example, any damp areas or visible structural issues. This can help prove that the issue existed and the local council did nothing to fix it.
Medical records – An example of this could be if you suffered an illness due to damp inside your house. You may have visited your GP to address the issue; if so, medical records from this meeting could be used to support your claim.

If you’d like to discuss other evidence you could use in a potential claim against Dudley Borough Council, you can contact our team of advisers. They’d be happy to discuss your case and offer legal advice for free.

If you have a legitimate claim, they can connect you to a lawyer from our panel. They may be able to represent you on a No Win No Fee basis.

Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim Against Dudley Borough Council?

A No Win No Fee agreement, also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement, is a contract between you and your lawyer. It states the conditions your lawyer has to meet before they receive payment.

If your claim loses, you don’t pay any of your lawyers fees. You also won’t be asked to make any upfront or ongoing payments to them.

If your claim wins, a small, legally capped fee will be deducted from your compensation by your lawyer. You will have agreed to this beforehand and will still receive the majority of your compensation.

You can contact our team of advisers today for free legal advice about how a No Win No Fee agreement could help you fund legal representation for a claim. If your claim is valid, you could be connected with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.

The Three Year Personal Injury Claims Time Limit

The general personal injury claims time limit is three years. That is three years from the date of the incident or from when you gained knowledge that your injury was due to negligence.

However, there are some exceptions:

A child accident claim – If you’re below the age of 18, the three-year time limit begins on your 18th birthday. Before this, someone could act as a litigation friend to pursue the claim for you and the time limit is suspended.
Mental incapacity claims – If someone lacks the mental capacity to make a claim, the three-year personal injury claims time limit begins in the event that their recovery has commenced. Alternatively, someone can become a litigation friend to make the claim on your behalf.

You generally have 6 years to make a housing disrepair claim. Similarly, the time limit for data breach claims is 6 years. This is unless the claim is being made against a public authority, in which case it’s 1 year.

Our team of advisers would be happy to explore the personal injury claim time limits with you in more depth.

Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Dudley Borough Council

If you have evidence of a local council data breach or personal injury caused by negligence, you can contact our team of advisers to explore the process of making a claim against Dudley Borough Council. They can have a chat with you about your situation and explore your next steps with you.

Once you’ve chatted to an adviser, you don’t have to continue with our services if you don’t want to. However, if you’d like, an adviser can connect you to a personal injury lawyer or data breach solicitor from our panel provided your claim is legitimate. They can then explore No Win No Fee agreements with you and begin the claims process.

Would you like to have a chat with an adviser? You can contact our team of advisers via:

A phone call on 0800 408 7827 to receive free legal advice.
Our live chat pop-up box to receive an instant response.
Our claims form to get a reply at your earliest available time.

More Resources On Making A Claim Against Dudley Borough Council

How Do I Know If I’ve Broken A Bone? – If you suspect you may have suffered a bone fracture, this NHS guide has important information.

Your Data Matters – This ICO page includes important information about the rights you have to your data.

Guides On How To Sue The Local Council

Thank you for reading our guide about what circumstances could entitle you to claim against Dudley Borough Council.

Article by SOP

Edited by FER

Dudley Borough Council Compensation Claims Guide

Dudley Borough Council – How To Sue For Compensation