Cheshire West and Chester Council paid out £85,600 to someone who tripped over a metal stump sticking out of the pavement.
In 2013/14 and 2014/15, the authority coughed up a total of £862,984 for 254 claims.
The figures come from a report by the TaxPayers’ Alliance, which examined claims made against local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales, acquired via freedom of information requests.
The payouts include £30,964 to someone who fell into an uncovered manhole, £6,200 for a table tennis table falling on someone and £9,556 after a CWaC employee stole jewellery belonging to the claimant while providing care services.
Having torn their jacket on a fire door, one individual received £50.
Each claim thoroughly reviewed
Mark Wynn, director of finance for CWaC, said: “Cheshire West and Chester Council do not want to see people injured or suffer property damage as a result of its activities.
“However, where an incident results in a claim, each claim will be thoroughly reviewed and where appropriate, procedures reviewed to prevent similar incidents reoccurring. The council’s policy is to rigorously defend claims where legal advice recommends this.
“We undertake regular insurance benchmarking exercises to ensure that our risk reduction strategies and insurance arrangements reflect successful practice nationally, and identify areas that can be improved.”
National figure
The research found that more than £104 million was paid out by local authorities in compensation in 2013/14 and 2014/15.
Examples of what other local authorities paid out for include Calderdale Council with £65 for misplaced reading glasses, while Newport Council parted ways with £375 to a claimant who was riding his bicycle on a footpath when his face came into contact with stinging nettles.
Mr Wynn added that the TaxPayers’ Alliance report reveals that the amounts paid out by CWac are ‘boardly comparable’ with those of other local authorities.
