Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about an injury she sustained after falling on a loose paving slab in May 2016. The complaint lies outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction because it is late. Also, this is a complaint about negligence which is a legal matter for the courts to consider and decide.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to here as Miss X, complains she was injured after falling on a loose paving slab.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered the information Miss X provided in her complaint. I also considered information about the claim which we requested from the Council. I sent Miss X a draft of my decision and invited her comments on it.

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What I found

6. Miss X says she was injured when she fell on a loose paving slab in May 2016. Miss X says she now has arthritis as a result, which has a big impact on her life and she is at risk of losing her career and home.
7. In late 2016, Miss X submitted a claim for damages to the Council via her solicitors. The Council decided the claim in early 2017. It denied liability.
8. In early 2018, Miss X submitted a further claim to the Council about the same incident. The Council considered the new information Miss X provided. It again denied liability in March 2018.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. It lies outside our jurisdiction because it is late. The law says complaints should be made to us within 12 months of the person first becoming aware of the matter. Clearly Miss X was aware of this matter when it happened in 2016.
10. I see no good reason to exercise discretion to consider this late complaint now. Even if we had received this complaint within 12 months it is unlikely we would have investigated it because this is a complaint about negligence. Negligence is a legal matter for the courts to consider and decide. Only the courts could decide if the Council was negligent and, if so, whether it should pay any damages Miss A seeks. The Ombudsman cannot decide a negligence claim.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman