Shropshire Council (20 008 053)
Category : Transport and highways > Other
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 05 Jan 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Ms X’s complaint that the Council will not accept liability for injuries she sustained after a fall. Ms X can take court action for the compensation she seeks and the complaint is therefore outside the Ombudsman’s legal remit.
The complaint
- Ms X complains the Council will not accept liability for injuries she sustained after a fall.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered what Ms X said in her complaint and I have sent her my draft decision for her comments.
What I found
- Ms X says she fell over raised paving at a bus station. Ms X was hospitalised for several months due to the injuries she sustained and has ongoing issues. Ms X complains the Council will not accept liability for this.
Analysis
- We cannot determine if the Council is legally liable for Ms X’s fall or whether compensation should be paid. Only the courts can do this. There is a procedure open to anyone to make a money claim through the courts or Ms X could ask a ‘no win, no fee’ solicitor to take on her case.
- For these reasons, it is reasonable to expect Ms X to resort to court action and we will not therefore investigate.
Final decision
- My decision is that the Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is reasonable to expect Ms X to resort to court action for the compensation she seeks.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman