€780k paid out in compensation claims against Kerry County Council
Personal injury claims for trips and falls in Tralee and other centres have reportedly rocketed since January 2014, a senior council engineer in charge of a specialised unit to tackle claims said.
The exact payout was €780,985. However, a further 149 claims lodged in the same period are outstanding against Kerry County Council. No determination has been made in relation to a settlement or even a dismissal.
The vast majority of civil actions involved trips and fall injuries and most relate to the county town. Up to 20 claims have been lodged since June last.
The FOI documents reveal, in total, some 45 solicitors are involved in the handling of the 149 claims with four solicitors handling a number of claims.
The top main solicitors involved in the claims against the local authority include Tralee solicitor Pa Daly, a county councillor. He is representing clients on 23 of the claims; Pat Mann, also Tralee-based, is handling 23 claims while Killarney solicitor Padraig J O’Connell is dealing with 11 claims and Lees Solicitors, based in Listowel are also handling 11 claims.
Smaller numbers of claims are being handled by 20 practices with Cashell Solicitors involved with six claims, and Thomas J O’Halloran solicitors in five and Charles J O’Connor and Co. handling five claims also.
Engineer Vincent Foley, who heads up the council’s dedicated claims unit, said claims against the council have spiked since 2014.
The council adopts a “very aggressive attitude” and is one of only a number of local authorities to have a dedicated insurance claims unit, Mr Foley said.
“The council’s aggressive approach to claims includes keeping a close eye on footpaths that are the locus of likely claims, and having them repaired continually.”
Meanwhile, at several council meetings, concerns had been raised about some locations being the focal points for a number of civil claims.
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