Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint that she suffered injuries due to the Council’s failure to maintain a pavement. This is because it is reasonable for Mrs B to take the Council to court.

The complaint

1. Mrs B complains she tripped and suffered injuries due to the Council’s failure to maintain a pavement. Mrs B also says her distress was made worse by the Council deleting CCTV footage of this incident and saying this was because she put in her claim late.
2. Mrs B also complains that the Council has not responded promptly or fully to her complaint.
3. Mrs B would like the Council to pay her compensation for the distress she has suffered due to the incident and the poor handling of her complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. The Act 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

6. I considered information provided by Mrs B.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. We do not normally investigate personal injury complaints. This is because such complaints are that an organisation has been negligent. Our role is to consider complaints of administrative fault. We take the view negligence claims are best decided by an organisation’s insurers, and if needed, the courts.
9. The Council has refused Mrs B’s compensation claim. Mrs B may now pursue her claim by taking the Council to court.
10. I find it is reasonable for Mrs B to do this and she may include in her claim her concerns about the Council deleting CCTV footage of this incident.
11. Only the courts can decide if the Council was negligent. Also, unlike the courts, we cannot order a party to pay damages.
12. So, we will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about her fall and the injuries she suffered.
13. Mrs B also complains about the Council’s handling of her complaint. It is not normally a good use of our limited resources to investigate complaints about complaints procedures if, as in this case, we are not investigating the substantive issue complained about. The Council’s final response to Mrs B’s complaint responds to each of Mrs B’s main areas of complaint and acknowledges there was a delay responding to her complaint. Further involvement by the Ombudsman is not justified.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because it is reasonable for her to take the Council to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman