Disabled woman who broke both ankles in wheelchair accident denied pay out

16 February 2024 , 15:51

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Jemma Cook suffered two broken ankles after her wheelchair hit uneven paving (Image: Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)

A disabled woman who broke both ankles after wheelchair hit an uneven pavement has been denied payout.

Jemma Cook became a "prisoner in her own home" because of her fears about the state of the roads and pavements. Council chiefs in Nottingham have already rejected almost £4 million worth of liability claims for the highways in recent years. The Tory-run authority hired external solicitors to enable it to reject claims, after the council showed it had a "reasonable system of inspection and repair in place at the time of the incident".

Jemma Cook and her mum Angela have now petitioned to get existing highways legislation changed taking in people with disabilities. NottinghamshireLive reports Angela Cook, 57, said her daughter "has become a prisoner in her own home" and fears about going out on her own.

Jemma at the location where she hit an even kerb in Harworth, Nottinghamshire (Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)

A wheelchair user from a very young age, Jemma was born with spina bifida. Last November, she and members of her family were on their way out when her wheelchair hit the edge of an uneven pavement. They say it is something they had not seen given it was dark and the pavement defect was full of water.

Jemma's wheelchair completely tipped over as a result, with both her legs ending up underneath it. Although there were initially no signs of serious injury, the family explained Jemma developed significant swelling in the proceeding days and that she was taken to Bassetlaw Hospital and told she had broken both ankles in multiple places.

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Angela said: "I called the council to say this needs fixing and they said I needed to contact the claims department. Within three days, the claims department said the council wasn't at fault and started quoting a highways act from the 1980s. If I hear that act mentioned again I'll scream. They still haven't fixed the pavement. We as the public pay our way so jobs like this should just be done." Previous court judgements have determined defects in roads and pavement less than 20mm in depth are below the threshold at which local authorities have to intervene."

The uneven pavement in Harworth, Nottinghamshire, where Jemma was hurt (Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)

Nottinghamshire County Council says it has not identified any defects at the scene of the incident that need repairing. But Jemma insists it only takes an incredibly small defect for her wheelchair to potentially tip.

She said the council's admission about the number of highways liability claims rejected was "disgusting" and added: "I'm always cautious about the state of the roads and going out on my own. There's only one place I can get to on my own and that's my friend's, who lives literally just up the street. But even then I have to text my family to say I'm leaving and then text them to let them know I'm setting off again."

Angela Cook with her daughter Jemma Cook by the uneven payment surface (Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)

A highways manager from Nottinghamshire County Council said: "We were extremely concerned to hear about reports of an injury sustained by resident at Bawtry Road in Harworth and we wish them a speedy recovery. As soon as we received the report, an urgent inspection of the location of the incident was arranged.

"No defects requiring a repair were found and it is still the case that no repairs are required at the location. At the same time, our inspectors also undertook inspections of the footway on an unrelated area of Bawtry Road during which some surface damage was identified and repairs arranged."

Graeme Murray