It can be difficult to win public liability compensation claims against local councils because they’re heavily protected under the legislation, but that’s not to say they can’t be held liable for injuries. In this example, the tree root growing into the path was a clear trip hazard. If you can show that it had been reported to the council prior to your accident, and if the council failed to do anything about it, then it’s likely you can make a public liability claim against the council. The key legal point here is that if the council was aware of the hazard, had the opportunity to fix it and protect the public from injury, but failed to do so, then there may be a valid claim. So this is a good example of where a public liability lawyer may be able to build a strong case for you.