Proving liability

[crowncourt]

This rock is at the inner point of two meeting pavements: late one evening my wife, coming down and turning to her right, tripped on this unmarked rock, resulting in serious injury. As it was the verge, I contacted the County Council who advised the land did not belong to them, but to a Housing Association. Its' boundary is a fence to the left of the tree. The rock is outside this boundary fence, near the pavement edge.

The Housing Association has contacted me and want details of injuries and Dental work etc: these will be submitted to its' Insurance Company.
Can anyone please advise what this letter before action should include and if you think proving/accepting liability could be a major difficulty in recovery of what will be costly Dental Treatment etc. Thank you

[des8]

Presumably you have told the HA about the circumstances, so other than what is currently being requested there is no need to prove liability.
If the insurers decline liability on behalf of the HA, then is the time to show your proof.

IMO there is an a priori case if that great lump of rock (from your earlier post I imagined a small rock a couple of inches high) is unmarked & unilluminated on a corner which is begging to be traversed by pedestrians.

[crowncourt]

Thank you for you response,
In its' initial contact letter, the HA asks..."Can you advise why you hold our insured responsible for the accident ?"
It further adds, "For my insured to be deemed liable, they must have failed in their duty of care or acted in a negligent manner."
The said area is and has been ...an accident waiting to happen!

[des8]

If a verge borders the public highway the public will assume it is part of the highway unless it is clearly marked as private.
This is because the public highway normally stretches hedge/fence to hedge /fence.
Anyway if the verge is private property but the public have easy access to it , it is the property occupiers responsibility (cf Occupiers Liability Act 1984)

Presumably the verge is not part of a tenant's property, so the owner will be the occupier

[crowncourt]

Given The 1984 Act, you mention, one would assume assume the Occupier has, at some stage, carried out a risk assessment of the property.
With a duty of care to the public paramount, it does seems unreasonable a risk assessment would not recognise this rock as.... an accident waiting to happen.

[des8]

Have you carried out a risk assessment of your home?
Not many do

[crowncourt]

I have, eight months ago, as I was having builders working on the exterior of the house and erecting scaffolding around ii. But I only found out about it by chance!!