£17.5k for a finger trapped in a door and £3k for tripping over a traffic cone - We round up the biggest and most bizarre payouts

As it was revealed today that among the £387,411 paid out in injury claims by Dudley Council since 2013, one payment was £18,120 for a break or fracture caused by a pothole, we took a look at other hefty and often bizarre payouts .

One whopping pay out by Wolverhampton Council was £17,500 to someone who got their finger trapped in one of its doors.

In the past two years the council has also dished out £4,793 after a person's seat collapsed, £4,708 to someone who fell due to a hole in a car park and £4,300 to a resident who tripped on uneven Tarmac.

Trips and falls are a common claim. In September 2013 Dudley Council paid out £12,000 for a fracture sustained on a pavement, while they paid out £8,500 in September 2014 for a break caused by a defect on a road.

Road defects - or more specifically potholes - have cost Sandwell Council more than £1 million during the past four years, with 200 drivers claiming their cars were damaged.

It's not just members of the public who make claims, councils have also been forced to pay out to their own staff. Sandwell Council has paid out almost £300,000 to staff in the past three years. Payments included £3,250 to the worker who tripped over a traffic cone, £2,800 to a person who fell on hot Tarmac, £2,000 to an employee who fractured their arm when a shutter fell on it and £1,250 to a member of staff who was given an electric shock.

Other claims approved included £1,250 to the member of staff who lost their tooth in an accident, £1,000 to someone who suffered bruising after being hit by a door and £300 to a worker whose ring was caught in a door.

It's not just councils who make pay outs either, in the last three years West Midlands Police has paid out nearly £1 million in compensation. The highest payout was £57,500 back in November 2012 for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment, trespass and wrongful infringement of human rights.

Pupils injured at Wolverhampton schools have been given a total of £29,000 since September 2009. The payouts to 71 youngsters included more than £10,000 for a child who caught their left knee on exposed metal and more than £8,000 for a youngster who injured their upper abdomen on a large splinter.

Below are full details for the most expensive and bizarre claims paid out by Wolverhampton Council.

2013-2014: Homecare service user fall – resulted in a payout of £92,500

2010-2011: Slipped on liquid dancing – £35,000

2014-2015: Claimant tripped over a pothole – £22,481.42

2014-2015: Slipped on snow – £22,000

2014-2015: Slip on wet dance floor – £20,000

2014-2015: Slipped on wet floor – £18,841

2012-2013: Attack by pupil – £18,000

2014-2015: Finger trapped in door – costing £17,500 in compensation

2010-2011: Physically abused and sexually assaulted – £16,000

2012-2013: Tripped and fell due to protruding metal on the pavement – £15,000

2009-2010: Pupil bit off finger of assistant – leading to payout of £3,500