City paves the way as payouts take a tumble

City leaders have been inundated with thousands of compensation claims in recent years from pedestrians and drivers who have fallen victim to cracked paving slabs and pock-marked roads.

But now they have been criticised for allegedly adopting a "ruthless" stance against such claims after figures showed payouts have been slashed from nearly 260,000 to under 50,000 in four years.

The amount paid out to people injured after tripping in the streets or damaging their cars on road defects has plummeted by 81 per cent since 2000.

Opposition politicians today condemned the local authority for seemingly taking a more hard-line approach towards pedestrians who often have suffered serious injury, including broken bones.

In 2000 the average payout per overall claim totalled 364.02. But last year, that figure dipped to just 85.88. The number of claims relating to such issues has also decreased by 25 per cent over a three-year period. Edinburgh City Council officials said a huge investment in maintenance of the Capital’s roads and pavements, along with additional preventative works, were responsible for the massive reduction in such payments - which have fallen from 257,367 in 2000 to only 48,781 last year.

But critics suggested the decrease was more to do with a tougher attitude being taken against would-be claimants - who often are elderly.

The local authority currently employs private firm Gallagher Bassett International to deal with its public liability claims.

Tory transport spokesman Allan Jackson today attacked the council’s current "ruthless" approach and suggested officials should "ease up" on legitimate victims.

He said: "Edinburgh is quite well-known as the pothole capital of Scotland but it’s now terribly difficult for older people to win their claims.

"It’s a long, drawn-out process and there seems to be an instant ‘into the bunker’ attitude rather than saying ‘what can we do to help?’

"The council seems to close ranks and pass it on to loss adjusters. I don’t think the system is good. When injured people come to me and say, ‘what chance do I have to claim against the council,’ I say, ‘don’t hold your breath’.

"It’s difficult to work out a financial loss for a pensioner who has broken their arm but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be entitled to compensation. When you’re talking about people aged in their 80s who have broken bones, I think we should be easing up.

"The council is fighting these claims while they should be helping older people. These victims are getting the worst of it."

Gallagher Bassett International’s website promises to take a tough approach against potential claimants. It reads: "For many years, claims costs have continued to increase above the rate of inflation, fuelled by legal changes such as conditional fee arrangements and an increasing awareness of litigation.

"Today’s risk and insurance manager needs to be able to pinpoint areas of highest risk and cost, and develop programmes to eliminate or reduce them. As one of the largest claims and risk management companies in the UK, our aim is simply to provide a superior service that helps our clients lower their cost of risk."

Lib Dem councillor Tom Ponton, who broke his ankle after tripping on a pavement in the Mound in April, disputed that the situation was improving for Capital pedestrians.

He said: "The state of pavements in this city is not any better than in recent years. If we can afford to put speed bumps all over the place, the council should be able to find money to fill in potholes and fix pavements."

City officials denied there had been any policy change and insisted that ongoing works, which prevented potholes from becoming "craters" and ensured uneven pavements are being fixed more quickly, was responsible for the reduction in payouts.

A spokesman for the council’s city development department said: "The main reason why the number of public liability claims against the council has been on a downward trend is due in the main to the proactive approach we have adopted in tackling road and pavement defects.

"We aim to repair the vast majority of reported defects using dedicated squads within a period of 24 hours following the call and 85 per cent of reported faults are now rectified within a 24-hour period."