Roads Service receives 140 personal injury footpath claims

More than £2m in compensation has been paid out by a Stormont department over the course of 12 months for personal injuries incurred on public footpaths and carriageways.

The Department for Infrastructure paid £2.3m in the last financial year, up from the £1.6m paid in 2020/2021.

North Belfast had the highest number of pay-outs, with £427,822.83 paid out.

The department's Road Section Office received 140 personal injury claims relating to footpaths in 2021/2022.

That figure was down from 152 in 2020/2021.

Claims received in a financial year are not always concluded in that same year.

This means the figures include compensation paid for claims received in previous years.

The Ards and North Down area had the most claims for injuries on footpaths with 41.

'Footpaths in disrepair'

An Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) assembly member said issues with the quality of footpaths are regularly raised by his constituents.

"If you were to go anywhere in Northern Ireland it would not take you long before you do come across footpaths that are of a poor disrepair," East Belfast MLA Andy Allen told BBC News NI.

Mr Allen, who is a wheelchair user, said it was a particular problem for people with mobility issues.

"Some of the issues would be, at the very low level, uneven surfaces where some of the footpath has come away and that's causing patchy and uneven surfaces which are trip hazards.

"Some of the more extreme cases are where we have trees and the roots have grown and the roots are protruding in some instances which cause a lot of lumps and bumps right across the footpaths."

Andy Allen says footpaths are a particular issue for people with mobility issues

He added: "Where a footpath is poorly lit, it may be hard to see, hard to navigate those footpaths.

"There are also issues with our footpaths for people in wheelchairs where they are having difficulty because there are no dropped curbs, so they may be having to travel on the road.

"There's various issues right across our network of footpaths that needs to be addressed by the department."

'Massive disruption'

Seymour Major, a partner at Paschal O'Hare Personal Injury Solicitors, said the injuries sustained can often cause "massive disruption" for his clients.

"I've had people who've been out of work for several months because of it, especially if they have physical jobs and an injury can put them out of work for several months," he said.

"A lot of people don't receive pay if they're not at work and that can leave them in financial hardship as well."

Mr Major added: "People are usually extremely angry and upset because they don't expect going about their daily business for this to happen to them."

The Department of Infrastructure said a number of factors influence the amount of annual expenditure on public liability compensation payments.

"The number of cases progressing through the legal process in any financial year is not determined by the department," a spokesperson said.

"Personal injury compensation is linked to the type and severity of injury sustained, and consequently a small number of severe injury claims concluding in a financial year can increase the overall compensation total for that year.

"There are also many other factors which can impact on the volume of claims, such as traffic volumes, the underlying condition of the road network, long term weather patterns and the level of road maintenance."

The department added that funding pressures has meant money spent on road maintenance has "not been at the level required", resulting in "some deterioration of the network".

"However, the department has sought to ensure that funding was targeted at areas of greatest need and continues to do so," a spokesperson said.

This article was updated on 26 July after the Department for Infrastructure clarified that the compensation covers claims relating to footways and carriageways, while the number of claims related to footways alone.