Wokingham Borough Council has payed out in excess of £130,000 in accident claims over the last three years, new reports indicate.
The personal injury compensation claims include hundreds of instances of injury and damage that were brought about by potholes.
Other notable instances of injury claims include one injury that resulted in a payout of £13,016. The incident involved falling bricks hitting a person in Eustace Crescent.
An additional claim was paid to a child who suffered a fracture to their left leg whilst attending Emmbrook Junior School. The payment the child received tallied up at £4,747.
Many other less substantial payments were also made over the course of the past three years. Of those, £1,200 was paid out to replace a hearing aid which was broken after accidentally being trodden upon. Another £264.38 was paid to the owner of a damaged vehicle when a child struck it during a lesson for cycling proficiency.
Other payouts were made, such as for the damage done to a vehicle by a barrier at the Shute End offices of the council. Hurst’s Dinton Pastures was the site of another claim after an iron rod protruding from the ground led to a foot injury there as well.
The head of democratic services and governance for the council stated that only 30 per cent of all claims made were actually paid out. Susanne Nelson-Wehrmeyer noted that nearly 70 per cent of all the claims the council received were not paid out due to a lack of liability on the part of the council.
Unless this legal liability can be established by the injury claim, Ms Nelson-Wehrmeyer stated, compensation will not be paid to the victim.
213 of the 391 personal injury claims made over the past three years were closed without any payment being made to the injured party.