Council's Liability

I visited my podiatrist today and got chatting.  He mentioned that there was an incident a few weeks back where one of his clients came into the surgery all battered and bloody.  Apparently there was a tree growing close to the concrete footpath just up the street from the surgery and the roots had pushed up through the path causing a trip hazard which the poor old dear had fallen foul of.

He then mentioned that the VERY NEXT DAY there were workers with jackhammers digging up the footpath and effecting a repair.  He was impressed as to the immediacy of the action.

The reason, of course, for the council's action is due to the way the liability laws for these things are framed.  As long as a council has a reasonable maintenance programme in place (eg they inspect the area maybe four times a year) and effect repairs as they become necessary, then a problem with the footpath is not their responsibility.  They are not expected to know about every nook and cranny of their local government area.

However, if they are made aware of a potential problem, and do nothing about it, then they ARE liable for problems arising as a result.

In this case, the poor old dear who fell over probably won't have gotten any relief from council for her fall, but no doubt she will have told council about the problem.  Hence, from that point onward, the council is liable for future slips and falls.  This explains the fast action.

The moral of the story is, if you do notice dangerous things developing such as distortions in footpaths from tree roots, and any other potentially dangerous situations, let your council know about it, preferably in writing or by fax (although a phone call or email is possible).  Once they have been informed of the problem, they are then liable for any eventualities caused by the problem.  This'll get em going and you'll get stuff fixed!