Pavement Trip and Fall Compensation Claim
Local councils through their highways department are normally responsible for maintaining and monitoring the condition of most pavements, roads and highways in any area however major roads may be the responsibility of a national authority.

There are a great many accident compensation claims for personal injury pursued against the local highway authority each year regarding pavement trips, slips and subsequent falls due to inadequate maintenance.

Pavement Tripping & Slipping – Inspection & Maintenance
Local councils must have a system of regular checks and maintenance in place. This means that they will be considered liable for any injury sustained in a pavement tripping accident if they have failed to have an adequate inspection regime in place or if having identified a pavement defect they subsequently fail to carry out repairs within a reasonable time scale.

Personal injury claims against local councils for pavement trips can be difficult to pursue as it is necessary to prove that the system of checks and repairs in place was inadequate. The records of maintenance and reports of faults are available for public viewing and it is often these records that hold the key as to whether the council’s inspection system was adequate and the time scale to repair defects identified by the inspections was reasonable.

If a council can show that they have a regular inspection regime and a timely repair schedule then they can often prove a statutory defence which will preclude a successful compensation claim for a pavement trip injury.

Tripping & Slipping Evidence
To help your compensation claim regarding a pavement trip and fall claim you should write down the exact time and date of the accident, the location of the accident and the names and addresses of any witnesses.

Other useful information you can gather includes photographs of the area that caused the accident with an object (or ruler) to illustrate size and photographs of any visible signs of injury (ripped clothing, cuts, bruises, etc). You should keep and preserve the shoes you were wearing at the time together with any items damaged in the fall.