Dudley Council exposes nonsense claims

A woman who tripped over a neighbour's bin bag and someone who slipped on a wet piece of litter are among hundreds of nonsense personal injury claims lodged with Dudley Council.

More than 830 people have lodged claims amounting to around £4 million with the authority since the start of 2008 – but 464 of those cases have been ruled "spurious" and thrown out. Council bosses today revealed they have paid out just £500,000 of the claims.

They warned greedy personal injury lawyers who launch dozens of no-win, no-fee claims that they would "rigorously defend" such cases, which in recent months have included someone who fell over in the rain on a pedestrian crossing and tried to sue.

Councillor Tim Wright, cabinet member for legal services, said the authority would also consider claiming back any costs incurred by the authority if the claim was unfounded.

"No matter how silly a claim sounds, obviously we always undertake a full investigation," he said. "But we will not take money out of the taxpayer's pocket to fund these spurious claims."