Torbay Council (21 018 145)
Category : Environment and regulation > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 18 Mar 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint that she was injured when using a public toilet. This is because the courts are in the best position to decide personal injury complaints.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will refer to as Ms B, complains that she was hurt by a toilet roll holder which fell onto her head while she was using a public toilet owned by the Council. Ms B says one side of her body ached and she had a bad headache for a few days. Ms B says neither the Council nor its contractor have taken the incident seriously and the Council delayed responding to her complaint about the matter.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Ms B.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We generally do not investigate personal injury complaints. This is because ultimately these complaints are about alleged negligence by the Council. Only the courts can decide if an organisation has been negligent. Also, we cannot recommend actions or payments that ‘punish’ the organisation.
- I cannot decide whether the Council has been negligent and have no powers to enforce an award of damages. It is for Ms B to decide whether to pursue a compensation claim against the Council. We will not investigate a matter that only the courts can decide.
- Because we are not investigating the substantive matter, an investigation solely into the Council’s handling of Ms B’s complaint is not justified.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because the courts are in the best position to decide the matter.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman