Council’s Insurers reverse their decision and compensate victim
Miss W sustained a severe sprain to her right ankle as well as other injuries when she tripped over a pothole on Dock View Road in Barry on 28th February 2013. After receiving treatment for her injuries at the Barry Hospital, and having to rely on help from family and friends as a result of the injuries, Miss W instructed Martyn Prowel Solicitors to submit a claim in respect of the personal injuries and other losses sustained as a result of the accident.
Martyn Prowel Solicitors wrote to the Vale of Glamorgan Council setting out details of the claim and provided them with colour photographs showing the pothole which had caused Miss W’s accident. Unfortunately, the Council’s Insurers stated that the Council were not to blame for the accident, suggesting that they had inspected the very road where Miss W had fallen just three months prior to the accident, and that no pothole existed at that time.
Martyn Prowel Solicitors’ Janine Griffiths was not satisfied with the response from the Council’s Insurers and raised a number of issues with them in respect of the documents upon which the Council relied, questioning the categorisation of the road and referring to the Well Maintained Highways Code of Good Practice. Further, following further research, she was able to establish that the pothole which caused the accident was actually already in existence four months prior to the Council’s last inspection and seven months prior to the accident. In the circumstances, Janine Griffiths submitted to the Council’s insurers that their inspection three months prior to the client’s accident must have, in fact, been defective.
The Council’s insurers subsequently conceded that the Council had been negligent and in breach of their duty to Miss W.
Martyn Prowel Solicitors then obtained a Medical Report and arranged physiotherapy treatment upon Miss W’s behalf and the claim was then settled within four months of the Council’s insurers admitting breach of duty.
Miss W said, “At first, the Council said the accident wasn’t their fault, and that the pothole wasn’t there when they inspected it last, but Janine wouldn’t give up – she looked into their records and managed to prove to the Insurers that the Council were wrong. After that, I was medically examined and the claim settled much quicker than I had ever thought it would. My calls and e-mails always received a prompt response from Janine or a member of the department, and I am really happy with the service I received”.
Martyn Prowel Solicitors’ Janine Griffiths said, “I was delighted to have been able to persuade the Council’s Insurers to reverse their decision in relation to Miss W’s claim following making in depth enquiries and having a good look at the documents which the Council’s Insurers had provided to me. Further, having been able to arrange the physiotherapy treatment for Miss W meant that her recovery from her injuries was achieved much more quickly than it would have been had she waited on the NHS for physiotherapy treatment”.