Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse her 2022 claim for damages after she tripped on an uneven pavement slab and injured her shoulder. The complaint lies outside our jurisdiction because it is late and there are no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider it now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, complains about the Council’s decision to refuse her claim for damages in 2022 after she was injured when she tripped on an uneven pavement slab.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. 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

6. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Ms X submitted a claim for damages to the Council in 2022 after she was injured when she tripped on an uneven pavement slab.
9. The Council refused Ms X’s claim in September 2022.
10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint. It lies outside our jurisdiction because it is late. The law says we cannot investigate complaints where the complaint is not made within 12 months of the person affected first becoming aware of the matter. Ms X has clearly been aware of the matter since 2022 and I see no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider the complaint now.
11. As this is a complaint about negligence it is unlikely we would have investigated it even if it was made within 12 months. This is because negligence is a legal matter for the courts to consider and decide. We cannot decide a negligence claim and make a ruling on whether Ms X’s injury was caused by the Council’s negligence, nor can we award damages. It is a matter for the courts. It would be open to Ms X to make a claim for damages in the small claims court if she wants to pursue the claim further. Making a claim is a simple, low cost and accessible process. Fees are set on a sliding scale depending on the level of the monetary claim and those on a low income can apply for help with the fees.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint. It lies outside our jurisdiction because it is late and there are no good grounds to exercise discretion to consider it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman