Hertfordshire County Council paid out more than £2m last year for damage or injuries sustained where the council was to blame.

Latest data made available by the county council shows that in the last financial year (2023/24), £1,873,055 was paid out in public liability claims.

These are claims made by the public for injury or damage, usually on the highways – and can include slips, trips and falls.

Meanwhile an additional £373,696 was paid out in ‘public liability property damage’ claims.

These are claims that are made for damage caused, usually by a defect in the highway – such as pot-holes or over-hanging vegetation – and where damage is said to primarily affect to motor vehicles.

The data has been made available by Hertfordshire County Council, following a request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It relates to payments made within the 2023/24 financial year – even if the claims had been lodged in previous years.

According to the data, in 2023/24 there were 26 payments made in relation to public liability claims – with an average payment of £72,040.

In the same 12-month period there were 216 payments made for ‘public liability property damage – with an average payment of £1,703.

According to the data, in 2023/24 the county council received 240 new claims for public liability.

There were 1,652 claims for ‘public liability property damage’ made to the council in 2023/24.

Not all of the claims submitted to the county council result in an award.

Commenting on the data, a spokesperson for the county council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The council goes to great lengths to ensure that roads and pavements are as safe as possible, but when an injury or damage to property occurs and we are at fault we rightly compensate those affected.

“While we do everything we can to stop any claims being made through regular maintenance, when a claim is submitted we do everything possible to check its veracity and only make payments when they are due.”