Claim for Compensation - Notice to Potential Claimants

Making a claim against Council for loss or damage arising from an incident.

Please read the information below and if you wish to proceed the Claim for Compensation form will need to be completed to ensure your report is properly assessed. The form can be found at the bottom of this page. 

The proof required to establish negligence can be onerous and quite often you may be better served seeking compensation through your own insurance. Should your insurance company then consider the Council to be negligent, it may seek reimbursement of its costs and any excess that you have paid from Council.

Consideration needs to be given to claims associated with roads and footpaths as the Civil Liability Act 2002 and amendments set out several principles to be employed in determining whether an authority has a “duty of care” or has “breached a duty of care” in Section 45 and 42 as stated below:

  1. A roads authority is not liable in proceedings for harm arising from a failure of the authority to carry out road work, or to consider carrying out road work, unless at the time of the alleged failure the authority had actual knowledge of the particular risk the materialisation of which resulted in the harm
  2. The functions required to be exercised by the authority are limited by the financial and other resources that are reasonably available to the authority for the purpose of exercising those functions.
  3. The function required to be exercised by the authority are to be determined by reference to the broad range of its activities and not merely by reference to the matter to which the proceedings relate.

All reports will be considered on a “without Prejudice” basis. While Council sympathises with anyone suffering injury or sustaining loss, the acceptance of the completed incident report form by the Council in no way infers negligence on the part of the Council or binds Council to provide compensation.

Any compensation paid by Council comes from Council’s general account, that is, ratepayer funds.

How long does the process take?

The process of conducting enquiries and determining an outcome can take 4 to 6 weeks. Sometimes there are delays in obtaining information which is beyond Council's control (i.e. information required from third parties, contractors or witnesses). Council endeavours to respond to claims as quickly as possible, but claims brought in negligence are often quite complicated and Council asks for your patience and co-operation during this time.

 

Why can't Council pay on compassionate grounds?

Whilst Council regrets any incident, we are unable to use rate payers' money to pay compensation unless a clear legal liability has been established.

 

Can I engage a lawyer to represent me?

Yes. It is your right to engage a lawyer at any time. However, the decision to do so is entirely a matter for you and Council accepts no liability for legal costs you incur. The issue of legal costs and the risks associated with litigation is something you should discuss with your legal advisor.

 

What is negligence?

To determine negligence, you must establish, on the balance of probabilities, three essential elements: 

1. A duty of care was owed by Council to you; and 

2. Council breached the duty of care owed to you; and 

3. The loss or damage suffered was caused by Council’s breach of duty of care - put simply, you must establish that your loss has been directly caused by Council rather than by other factors.

 

What is an Obvious Risk?

An obvious risk is if a reasonable person knew about the risk or ought to (because of common knowledge) have known about the risk. An example of an obvious risk is diving from a ledge into shallow water at low tide, or tripping over something that a reasonable person would have seen.

 

Why has Council asked for photographs?

One of the most effective ways to avoid confusion about the circumstances surrounding your claim is through the use of photographs. Providing photographs with your claim is not essential, however it ensures that Council is looking into the correct issues. 

Please ensure that you only take photographs if it is safe to do so. 

If you do wish to provide photographs, Council requests that you provide a variety of shots and angles to clearly show the situation that supports your claim.

 

What information do I need to provide to Council?

  • Your personal details
  • Details of injury, loss or damage
  • Exact location of incident location
  • Photograph of incident location
  • Photograph of damage to vehicle and/or other property
  • If person was injured, details including any medical assistance required

Copies of any expert opinions and/or any report on which you wish to rely on to support your allegation that the damage is due to negligence by Council; You will be required to provide documentation on application to substantiate all amounts claimed.

It is very unlikely Council will be liable and therefore cannot pay compensation if:

  • You cannot establish the cause of the damage;
  • The damage was caused by, or resulted from, a weather event - e.g. fallen trees / branch damage;
  • The damage was caused by defects when Council was not previously aware of the problem e.g. potholes, footpaths, tree roots etc.;
  • The damage caused by a contractor acting on behalf of Council e.g. roadworks, parks maintenance etc. Such claims will be referred to the relevant contractor to respond to you directly;
  • Council is complying with its statutory duties under relevant legislation; and
  • It relates to the condition of pit lids or other infrastructure belonging to utility companies.

Click here to submit the online form

Click here for a printable copy of the form(PDF, 151KB)

 

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