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Making a Claim for Compensation from the Council |
 Council Compensation Claims refers to those claims that are made against a council for being negligent or having failed in performing its statutory duty. These claims are determined on the basis of their legal liability. Put in simple terms, this means you will have to prove that the council was negligent and had failed in discharging its statutory duty. There is no automatic entitlement for compensation against the council.
Making a claim
Once a claim is made against the council, the officers of the council may investigate some of the background issues pertaining to your claim. Any relevant information is then passed on to the council compensation claims professional who is employed by the council to determine whether there is any legal liability attached to the council or not. Normally, this is done in conjunction with the council's officers.
Requirements to make a claim
For making council compensation claims, there are a few things that you need to provide. These include:
• Name & Address
• Date of the Accident
• Exact Location of the Accident
• Date of Birth
• National Insurance Number
Apart from all the above mentioned, you will also have to submit the reason as to why you hold the council guilty for the accident.
How to make a claim
Council Compensation Claims can be made by using an online form. You can visit your local council's website and download the claim form for compensation. Whatever information you provide in the form is bound by the council's own privacy policies.
What happens after you apply?
Well, once the council receives your claim, it will acknowledge the receipt of your claim and make an investigation into the veracity of your claim and then make its own report for the benefit of its claim handlers. If the claims handlers do not find the council is not legally liable for the accident, it will write to you and give its own reasons as to why it should not be held responsible. If you are not happy with it and want to take it further, you can seek independent legal advice on how to proceed further.
If the council compensation claim is accepted by the council, it will write to you and inform what they are willing to offer as compensation. You can either accept it or refuse it. Remember, if you choose to refuse, the council is under no obligation to make a higher offer to you.
Council compensation claims are not settled overnight. In fact the time taken to settle a claim is dependent on a variety of issues. Normally, if the claim does not involve any injuries and the legal liability is also straight forward, such council compensation claims are settled within six weeks of receiving the claim. However, if the claim includes injury, the claim handlers may have to refer to doctors, hospitals, etc to verify and determine the extent of your injuries. In such instances, it may take a fair amount of time to settle the claim. In some claims the claim handlers may require some expert opinion related to the case, which again may involve some time as the experts may take their own time in replying back. All this may impact the time taken to arrive at a final decision. Taking a decision on claims that involve injuries to children may take some time since it may be a while before you know the full extent of the injuries.
Finally, when filing for council compensation claims, ensure that you have a very good chance of success. This means you should be able to produce evidence that shows the negligence of the council in performing its statutory duties.
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