Last Updated 26th February 2026. For successful pavement accident claims, you need to prove that your injury was due to the negligent actions of the local council. The existence of a specific, dangerous defect, such as a raised slab over 2.5 cm (1 inch deep), must be demonstrated. In order to prove the council’s liability, you will have to collect evidence, such as photographs of the pavement defect and medical records. Usually, there is a time limit of 3 years to start these claims, unless exceptions have been made.
In this guide, we cover what to do if you wish to claim compensation after tripping on pavement slabs. Pavement accidents are more common than you might think. In fact, they are a big part of our business as accident compensation claims specialists. So, if you have tripped on uneven pavement and wish to claim for your injuries, then this article should help you.
If you’ve decided to claim accident compensation, it may be beneficial to use legal assistance to make your claims process smoother. Find out how to claim by speaking to an advisor now.
4.8 (466 reviews) Watch Our Video Explainer
If you’d like to learn more about claiming compensation for a pavement accident, why not watch our quick explainer video that offers all of the key information:
Can I Claim Compensation For A Pavement Accident?
It would be possible for you to claim for falling on a pavement if it can be proven that the accident and following injuries were the fault of another person.
To show this, your case must satisfy the following eligibility requirements:
You Were Owed A Duty Of Care
A local council, authority, utility company or private landowner owes you a legal duty of care. This is an obligation where the responsible party must take all reasonable steps to uphold and protect your safety whilst using pavements, roads or other highways. Per the duty of care, the liable party should ensure pathway repairs are completed and that public walkways are maintained.
This Duty Of Care Was Breached
We must then determine that the organisation owing you this duty of care breached this. A breach can arise in pavement accident claims if the local authority, utility company or private landowner fails to inspect, maintain or repair walkways to a reasonable standard, resulting in your subsequent injuries.
You Suffered Physical Or Psychological Injuries As A Result
Finally, we must establish a link between the breach of duty, and your subsequent injuries. If it can be shown that the breach directly led to you suffering physical harm or psychological distress, you could be eligible to claim for falling on a pavement. Notably, you’re able to seek compensation for multiple injuries, whether minor or serious; provided that they are medically recognised.
Can I Claim Against The Council For A Pavement Trip
Yes, you could claim against the council for a pavement trip, if you were injured due to a defect that they failed to inspect, maintain or repair.
Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 (HA) imposes a legal duty on highway authorities, whether this be a local council or authority, to maintain highways (including roads, footpaths and sometimes even bus shelters) to a reasonable state of repair. This is with the purpose of preventing risks of danger or injury to road users or pedestrians.
If we can show that the council or local authority violated their legal duty under the HA 1980, then you could be eligible to seek compensation.
What If The Council Is Not Responsible For My Pavement Trip
If a local council is not responsible for your pavement trip, it can be likely that the incident was caused by another third party, such as a utility company. In these claims, responsibility for maintaining the pavement or pathway shifts from the council to the gas, water or electric company.
An example of this may include if a utility company fails to properly sign the site with barriers, signage or lighting to warn pedestrians of any hazards.
You could be eligible to make a personal injury claim against this utility company rather than your local council in these situations, which our expert solicitors could handle on your behalf.
What If My Pavement Injury Happened On Private Land
If your pavement injury took place on private land, you could still pursue compensation but instead of claiming against the council, you would make the claim directly against the private landowner, occupier or business owner.
Notably here, under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957, private landowners owe visitors a duty of care to ensure the reasonable safety of the visitors to their land. Per this duty, private landowners should regularly inspect any footpaths, walkways or pavements, and ensure that regular repairs are carried out to reduce the risk of hazards on their property.
For a free case consultation to explore whether you’d be eligible to claim for falling on a pavement, please get in touch with our advisors today.
Who Could Be Responsible For My Accident?
Responsibility for pavement accident claims is dependent on where and why the accident occurred. Accountability could rest with a local council, a utility company or even a private landowner.
Typically, liability if you tripped and fell on an uneven pavement tends to lie with the body responsible for maintaining that specific area; this is generally the local council or local authority. Under the Highways Act 1980, a local highway authority has a legal duty to maintain pavements, roads or other public highways to ensure that they are reasonably safe for pedestrians and other road users. If they fail to do so in a timely manner, and this leads to your accident, you could claim for falling on a pavement.
However, a utility company could be liable for a pavement injury claim if their negligence when conducting street works or their tools create hazards that led to your pavement accident.
Moreover, in the event that you’ve tripped and fell on an uneven pavement on private land, under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957, a private owner could be liable for your compensation if they failed to maintain the pavement and this caused your accident.
For more information regarding who could be responsible for your own pavement accident, please get in touch with our advisory team today.
How Much Pavement Accident Compensation Could I Receive?
If you’ve tripped and fell on uneven pavement, you are probably wondering “How much compensation for tripping on pavement can I claim?”. If you have a successful personal injury claim, your compensation could potentially be split into two parts – general and special damages. General damages are always awarded in successful cases, whereas special damages are only sometimes awarded.
General damages compensates you for the physical and psychological impacts of negligence. As such, some factors looked at when general damages are being valued include:
- Loss of amenity.
- The severity of your pain.
- How long the recovery period is.
During the pavement accident compensation claims process, you could be asked to go for an independent medical assessment. Solicitors can look at the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), alongside reports from your independent medical assessment, to help calculate your general damages.
The JCG is a publication that has guideline settlement values for different physical and psychological injuries.
Guideline Compensation Table
Below, we have taken some injuries from the JCG, plus their accompanying guideline settlement values. These are just some examples of the types of injuries that could be suffered after having tripped and fell on uneven pavement.
When looking at this table, please note that the top value is not from the JCG. Also, because no two personal injury claims are the same, none of these figures can be guaranteed for your particular case.
| Injury | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries Plus Special Damages | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain damage - Very Severe | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Brain damage - Moderate (i) | £52,550 to £267,340 |
| Back Injury - Severe (i) | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Back Injury - Moderate (i) | £33,880 to £47,320 |
| Foot Injury - Very Severe | £102,470 to £133,810 |
| Knee injuries Severe (ii) | £63,610 to £85,100 |
| Ankle injuries - Very Severe | £61,090 to £85,070 |
| Leg injuries - Severe (iii) Serious | £47,840 to £66,920 |
| Wrist Injury - Significant permanent disability | £29,900 to £47,810 |
Special Damages
Special damages compensates you for the financial impacts of negligence. Some examples of financial losses you could potentially suffer after having tripped and fell on uneven pavement include:
- Medical bills, such as buying prescriptions.
- Loss of earnings for taking time off work to recover from your injury.
- Travel expenses to attend medical appointments.
Having evidence of the financial losses that have resulted from your injury is essential, since special damages are not always awarded. So, please keep any:
- Receipts
- Invoices
- Payslips
- Bank statements
That can be used as evidence.
To find out more on how successful pavement accident compensation claims are calculated, please contact us today.
How Long Do I Have To Claim For Pavement Accident Compensation?
You may be wondering ‘what is the time limit for pavement accident claims?’. Personal injury claims must be started within the relevant time limit. According to the Limitation Act 1980, you generally have three years to start your claim. This can begin on the date of your injuries, but there are some exceptions.
For example, the time limit is frozen for those under the age of 18. While the time limit is frozen, a litigation friend can be appointed to start the claim on the child’s behalf. Otherwise, the time limit reinstates on their 18th birthday and runs until they turn 21.
Similarly, the time limit is suspended for an indefinite amount of time for those who are incapacitated mentally. At any time while the time limit is suspended, an appointed litigation friend can start the claim on their behalf. If they recover the capacity to claim, then the time limit reinstates on the date of their recovery.
To find out if you could be within the time limit to make a trip on pavement claim, contact our team.
4.8 (466 reviews) What Are The Causes Of Pavement Accidents?
Pavement accidents are primarily caused as a result of poor maintenance, leading to uneven or defective surfaces or potholes. In addition to this, obstructions like construction barriers, excavations or even poor lighting can all be causes of pavement accidents.
Below, we’ve provided a few specific examples of how you could be eligible to claim for falling on a pavement:
- When walking around a public park in the evening, your foot becomes dislodged in a paving slab that has been lifted by tree roots. This hazard hadn’t been cordoned off, or signposted and had previously been reported to your local council by a number of residents. This led you to trip, and fall, sustaining a severe back injury and broken wrist as a result.
- A water company excavates a pavement to repair a burst water pipe. Once the works are completed, they fill the excavation with tarmac but fail to properly compact it, leaving an uneven patch which is two inches lower than the rest of the fresh tarmac. When walking along this area of pavement, you trip on the edge of this lip, leading to a head injury and a broken arm.
- Whilst you were walking along a supermarket car park, you tripped and fell on a pothole by a pedestrian crossing. This hadn’t been taped off, and there were no hazard signs. This led to you suffering a broken ankle and a moderate head injury as a result.
These examples aren’t an exhaustive list, but rather illustrative to provide you a few ways in which you could have merit to claim after you tripped and fell on an uneven pavement. Get in touch with our advisors to discuss the particulars of your own case with us today.
What Evidence Do You Need For A Pavement Accident Claim?
The following types of evidence can best support pavement accident compensation claims:
- Video (CCTV) footage that shows the accident itself and the location of where it happened.
- Photographs of what caused the accident, highlighting a specific trip hazard or pavement defect. Be sure to also take a photograph using a ruler or tape measure next to the trip hazard to highlight its depth, height, and width.
- Contact details from anyone who witnessed your pavement accident. They can provide a witness statement that supports your version of events and give additional details regarding the condition of the pavement at a later date in the claims process.
- Copies of your medical records after having your injuries assessed by a medical professional to show how exactly you’ve been affected by the breached duty of care.
- A personal diary where you have noted your treatment and symptoms.
- A copy of the accident report you made to the local authority to show that there is official recognition of the accident.
- Copies of any correspondence (emails or letters) between you and the local authority or property owner responsible for the maintenance of the pavement you were injured on. If you made a complaint about the pavement prior to the accident, copies of this correspondence can also be used.
It is advised that you try and gather as much of the above evidence as possible in order to have the chance of a successful claim. It can be overwhelming to gather all of this on your own, though. For this reason, our solicitors include gathering evidence as part of their services.
For more information on how to prove pavement accident claims, and to find out whether one of our specialist solicitors can help you gather your evidence today, please give us a quick free call.
No Win No Fee Pavement Accident Compensation Claims
If you tripped and fell on an uneven pavement and were injured as a result, one of our solicitors may be able to help you make a personal injury claim. Working with a solicitor can make the claims process seem less daunting, as they can help you gather evidence, offer more information on valuing compensation, and explain legal jargon.
An additional benefit is that our solicitors offer No Win No Fee services. This means that they on a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), under which your solicitor will start working on your claim without asking for a fee. Similarly, they won’t charge for their continued work, and you will not pay a fee if your claim fails.
If your pavement trip claim succeeds, then you will pay a success fee. The success fee is taken directly from your compensation as a percentage amount. However, this percentage is limited by a legal cap, which helps to make sure that you keep the larger share of compensation.
If you have any more questions about how you could be eligible to claim if you tripped and fell on an uneven pavement, please get in touch with our advisors today.
To get started, contact our team by:
- Calling us on 0800 073 8804
- Contacting us online
- Using the live chat feature
4.8 (466 reviews) Frequently Asked Questions About Pavement Accident Claims
Below, we discuss some frequently asked questions regarding pavement accident claims:
Can You Sue The Council For Uneven Pavement?
Yes, you can sue the council for injuries sustained after falling on an uneven pavement, provided it can be proven that they were negligent in their duty to maintain or repair the pavement.
Can I Claim For A Raised Paving Slab?
Yes, you could claim for a raised paving slab if it caused injuries, and is generally over an inch in height.
Can I Sue The Council Over Tree Roots Causing Pavement Accidents?
Yes, you could sue the council for any injuries caused by tree roots uplifting paving slabs. Again, if we can prove that they acted negligently in maintaining the specific area where your accident occurred.
Can I Still Claim If The Pavement Accident Happened At Night?
Yes, you could still seek compensation for a nighttime pavement accident provided that the accident was caused by a hazard that the responsible party failed to manage or maintain.
Thank you for reading our guide to claiming pavement accident compensation for tripping on pavement.
