Leeds City Council – How To Sue For Compensation

In this guide, we will look at what circumstances could entitle you to claim against Leeds City Council. We’ll examine the areas of personal injury, data breaches and housing disrepair.

Claim against leeds city council guide

Claim against Leeds City Council guide

To make a claim against a council, you would need to be able to prove that a breach in duty of care towards you caused you harm or injury. In this guide, we’ll examine exactly what a duty of care is. We’ll also look at how you can tell when it’s been breached.

If you have any questions, our team of advisors can offer you free legal advice. If your claim is valid, they could even connect you with an expert solicitor from our panel.

Read on for more information about making a claim against your local authority Alternatively, get in touch now to find out more about claiming:

Select a Section

  1. An Explanation Of Claims Against A Council
  2. Details On Data Breach Compensation Claims Against The Local Council
  3. How To Pursue Housing Disrepair Claims Against The Local Council
  4. Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim Against Leeds City Council?
  5. Personal Injury Claims – Maximum Time Limits
  6. Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Leeds City Council
  7. More Resources On Making A Claim Against Leeds City Council

An Explanation Of Claims Against A Council

It’s possible you could claim against Leeds Council for a personal injury that was caused by their negligence. The council owes a duty of care to those who use the space for the intended purpose.

This duty of care is covered in the Occupier’s Liability Act, 1957. In this, it is detailed that those in control of spaces (the occupiers) are obligated to take reasonably practicable steps to keep the space safe for the purpose intended.

In public, the council can be considered the occupier of many spaces, such as shops, public parks, public gyms and walkways. If this duty of care were to be breached, resulting in harm, you may be able to claim.

For example, if there was a spillage in a shop that hadn’t been cleaned up or signposted in a reasonable amount of time, you could potentially slip and suffer a soft tissue injury. Or, there could be badly laid flooring in a public library that leads to a fall in which you break your forearm.

There are many more possible circumstances in which you could suffer an injury in a council-owned space and be entitled to claim against Leeds City Council. Get in touch with our team today to find out more.

Potential Personal Injury Compensation Payouts

The table we’ve included below will look at different compensation brackets for a variety of injuries. These figures are taken from the Judicial College Guidelines, which is a publication that is used to help value injuries for personal injury claims.

InjurySeverityAmount
ShoulderSerious£11,980 to £18,020
NeckModerate (i)£23,460 to £36,120
LegLess Serious (i) £16,860 to £26,050
AnkleVery Severe£46,980 to £65,420
EyeMinor£3,710 to £8,200
Wrist(b)£22,990 to £36,770
BackModerate (i)£26,050 to £36,390
ElbowLess Severe£14,690 to £30,050
KneeModerate (ii)Up to £12,900
FootSerious£23,460 to £36,790

You could also receive special damages as part of your compensation settlement. This part of your compensation covers any financial loss you may have suffered due to your injuries.

This could include travel, medical treatments not covered by the NHS, loss of earnings, and adjustments to the home. You could also potentially claim for losses you will  incur in the future.

However, in order for the special damages head of your claim to fully reflect the losses you have experienced, you’ll need to provide evidence. This could include things like receipts and invoices to show the money you’ve spent.

Details On Data Breach Compensation Claims Against The Local Council

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) defines a data breach as being an accidental or deliberate breach of data security leading to possible loss, destruction, change, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data.

Your personal data is protected by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK-GDPR) and an updated version of the Data Protection Act 2018. Both of these dictate how organisations should act when processing personal data, and ratified the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) into UK law. Personal data is classed as any data that can be used to identify you either in isolation or when combined with other information.

To make a data breach claim, there would need to have been positive wrongful conduct on the part of the local council. If the council did all they could to stop a breach from happening but one occurred anyway, you may not be able to claim.

You would also need to prove that the data breach has caused you some form of harm, whether material or non-material. For example, if your bank details were accidentally emailed to the wrong person, this could lead to financial loss. If you have proof that Leeds City Council has not protected your personal data, leading to a breach, you could be able to claim against them.

The ICO provides advice and guidance on protecting personal data, but they also gather statistics on data breach incidents. For example, their statistics show that in 2021/22, there were 236 data breach incidents reported in the local government. The most common non-cyber security incident was emails being sent to the wrong recipient, followed by data or post being faxed to the wrong person.

How To Pursue Housing Disrepair Claims Against The Local Council

The responsibility of landlords is covered in the Defective Premises Act 1972. If you live in council housing, then the local council acts as your landlord. This means that they have the same responsibilities to you according to this Act as a private landlord.

Your landlord has a duty of care towards you. This means that they need to ensure that anyone who could be affected by “relevant defects” is reasonably safe from personal injury or property damage. This is the case whether or not the tenant has informed the landlord. The landlord just needs to know, or ought to know, of the relevant defect.

For example, if you had a leak in your roof that your landlord was choosing to ignore, this could lead to a deterioration of the ceiling. If the ceiling then collapses, this could cause a broken cheekbone or nose.

Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim Against Leeds City Council?

If you’d like a solicitor to work on your claim, a No Win No Fee agreement could be beneficial. It means you are not required to pay any ongoing or upfront solicitor fees whatsoever.

If your claim is unsuccessful, you will not have to pay your solicitor for their work at all. However, if your claim does succeed, a success fee will be taken from your compensation amount by your solicitor.

This will only be deducted from your compensation amount once it is fully paid. You will always know beforehand the percentage your solicitor will be taking. This success fee is also capped by law, meaning you will get the majority of the compensation you are awarded.

For more information on how a No Win No Fee agreement could help you fund legal representation for a claim against Leeds City Council, speak with an advisor today.

Personal Injury Claims – Maximum Time Limit

Time limitations for different types of claims are all laid out in the Limitation Act 1980. This section will outline those time limitations and when they apply.

  • Data breach claims – Generally 1 year for claims against a public body, such as a local council. Reaches up to 6 years for non-public bodies.
  • Housing disrepair claims – Generally up to 6 years from the date of injury.
  • Personal injury claims – Generally up to 3 years from the date of the accident or the date of knowledge.

There are a few exceptions to the time limitation. These exceptions apply in the cases of minors or those with diminished mental capacity for personal injury claims. In both cases, a litigation friend (a responsible adult with the claimant’s best interests at heart) is required to claim on their behalf.

For minors, a litigation friend has until the claimant turns 18 to start a claim on their behalf. After they turn 18, the claimant has three years to start a claim for themselves.

For those with diminished mental capacity, the time limit is suspended unless the claimant makes a full recovery. Once the claimant has recovered, the normal time limitations then apply.

For more information on time limitations, get in touch with us today.

Get Advice On A Potential Claim Against Leeds City Council

If you have evidence that negligence or positive wrongful conduct on the part of the council has caused you harm, then you may be able to claim. For a free, no-obligation assessment of your claim, you can get in touch with one of our advisors today.

An advisor could connect you with an experienced solicitor from our panel if they think your claim has a good chance of success. They could represent you on a No Win No Fee basis.

Get in touch with us now:

More Resources On Making A Claim Against Leeds City Council

Thank you for reading our guide on how to claim against Leeds City Council. We hope it answered any questions you may have had. See below for more relevant links.

Shelter – A charity aiming to help those struggling with housing issues.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – A government website on how to claim SSP if you’ve had to take time off work due to your injuries.

Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) – The about page for RoSPA, a charity that aims to reduce the rate of accidents through guidance and advice.

Health and Safety Executive – This is the website for the HSE, Britain’s regulator for workplace safety.

Guides On How To Sue The Local Council

Thank you for reading our guide on how to claim against Leeds City Council.