The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her claim for compensation for personal injury. This is because it would be reasonable for Miss X to make a claim against the Council at court.
The complaint
The complainant, Miss X, complains she suffered an injury when she tripped on a pavement maintained by the Council. She is unhappy the Council refused her claim for compensation and says she is still struggling with the pain from her injury.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’.
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
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 considered information provided by Miss X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
It is not for us to determine the Council’s liability for Miss X’s injury. If Miss X believes the Council is liable it would be reasonable for her to make a claim against it through the courts. The law provides a specific defence against such claims and it would not be appropriate for us to deny the Council the opportunity to use it.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would be reasonable for Miss X to make a claim against the Council at court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman