Midlands councils pay £10.6m for minor accidents

Millions of pounds in compensation for minor accidents like trips and falls is being paid out by councils in the West Midlands and Staffordshire every year - with more than half the cash pocketed by solicitors.

Figures obtained by the Express & Star show £10.6 million has been paid out in "public liability" claims by the region's councils in the last two years. Almost £6.1m of taxpayers' money went straight to the claimants' solicitors.

Successful claims range from the £35,000 paid by Staffordshire County Council for a broken hand caused by faulty paving to £40,000 paid by Wolverhampton City Council to a motorcyclist whose bike was "damaged by a build up of gravel, rubble and bits of metal" on a road.

In another case the city council, which has paid out £1.8m in five years, was ordered to pay £900 to a resident who fell on a broken slab, while the solicitors were awarded £21,000 costs.

The bulk of the payouts is thought to result from solicitors who offer to represent claimants injured on council property on a 'no win, no fee' basis.

Wolverhampton South West Conservative MP Paul Uppal said today: "We are living with a compensation culture. Nobody wants to take responsibility - the default position is to sue. Daytime television is filled with adverts encouraging people to claim and it's a racket."

Councillor Ben Adams, Staffordshire County Council's cabinet member for communities, said: "We would advise anyone entering into a no win, no fee agreement to make sure they know exactly what they're signing up to.

"The council has no discretion to decide how much money should be retained by the claimant's solicitor."

The revelation comes as the Conservative party prepares to debate the no win, no fee culture at its October conference in Birmingham.

It is expected to propose reforms that could make it tougher for personal injury solicitors to claim excessive costs.