Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Ms X’s claim for compensation for personal injury. This is mainly because it is reasonable to expect Ms X to take court action.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about how TfL handled and rejected her claim for compensation after she fell on a pavement and suffered injury.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

3. I considered the information provided by Ms X.
4. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X disagrees with TfL’s refusal to give her compensation for personal injury. She argues there were faults in the investigation that led to that decision.
6. Ms X argues TfL was negligent, resulting in injury for which she should receive compensation. The courts can decide those points, so the restriction in paragraph 2 above applies to this complaint.
7. I have considered whether it is reasonable to expect Ms X to take court action. The possible cost of court action does not in itself automatically mean the Ombudsman should investigate instead. Liability and compensation for personal injury are not straightforward legally. It is more appropriate for the courts than the Ombudsman to decide this. So it would be reasonable for Ms X to go to court for a decision on this point.
8. Ms X is also not happy with how TfL handled the complaint and correspondence. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman