Man slams Milton Keynes Council after falling in street

A man who fell down an unmarked hole in the street has slammed Milton Keynes Council because they are not accepting liability for his injuries.
Robert's injured footRobert's injured foot
Robert's injured foot

73-year-old Robert Dickson was walking on Findlay Way in Bletchley when he caught his foot in a drain after a man hole cover had come away from the pavement.

He fell and injured his foot, which got infected after he tried to self treat the swelling.

His daughter said: “I’m not surprised it got infected, there are sewers down there and the metal cut him, I think the man hole came away in the heavy rain.

“Dad isn’t getting any compensation because the council refuse to accept liability, it’s unfair and if he had have fallen foward he could’ve hit his face.

“I was walking on the same street just a few days later and the thing had lifted again.

“Dad has lost so much of his confidence now, he deserves some sort of compensation - what if it had been a child that fell?

“The drain is still the same, and this could easily happen to someone else.”

A spokesperson from Milton Keynes Council, said: “There is no automatic right to compensations as a result of an incident which has occurred on the footways or highways maintained by the council. In order for a claim to succeed it must be shown that the council has acted negligently or failed in its statutory duty.

“The council will have a statutory defence to a claim if it can prove that any defect, no matter how dangerous, did not exist through any fault on its part at the date of the accident.”

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