Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her personal injury compensation claim. This is because an investigation would not be a good use of our limited resources or achieve a meaningful outcome for Mrs B.

The complaint

1. Mrs B says she broke her shoulder after tripping on a damaged pavement which the Council had failed to repair. Mrs B complains that after putting in a claim for compensation, the Council sent her to the wrong department and ignored her correspondence. Mrs B also says this has been going on for over two years and she has had to complete the same forms many times. Mrs B would like the Council to go to court and pay her the £10,000 she has claimed.

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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. 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)
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

7. We do not normally investigate personal injury complaints. This is because in effect such complaints are that an organisation has been negligent. Our role is to consider complaints of administrative fault. Negligence claims are best decided by an organisation’s insurers, and if needed, the courts.
8. Mrs B has complained to us about the Council’s handling of her compensation claim.
9. We would not normally start an investigation solely into an organisation’s handling of a compensation claim if, as with this complaint, we are not investigating the substantive matter. This is because such an investigation is unlikely to be a good use of our limited resources or provide a meaningful outcome for the person who has complained.
10. I find an investigation solely into the Council’s handling of Mrs B’s claim is not justified. Mrs B intends to take the Council to court and she may seek legal advice to help get the Council respond to her claim and start court action. Because of the seriousness of the issue and the significant sum Mrs B is seeking, I find it is reasonable for Mrs B to take such action. Also, there is a time limit for taking court action for a personal injury claim. An investigation by the Ombudsman may not help Mrs B meet this time limit.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because an investigation would not be a good use of our resources or achieve a meaningful outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman