Bartosz was walking home from work on a Tuesday evening in October 2022 when his foot caught the edge of a sunken drain cover on a busy Dublin footpath. It wasn't marked, wasn't fenced off, and the pavement around it had subsided by several inches. He twisted his ankle badly as he fell into the depression. At first, he thought it was just a bad sprain, but the pain and swelling didn't improve over the following weeks.
After six weeks of limping around and struggling with everyday tasks, Bartosz went to see a consultant. The scans showed a torn ligament and cartilage damage. He was told he needed surgery. The operation went ahead in December 2022, followed by months of physiotherapy. He was off work for nearly four months altogether.
While he was recovering, Bartosz's wife encouraged him to look into whether he could claim compensation from the council. He'd been injured due to a defect in the public footpath, and the drain shouldn't have been left in that dangerous condition. It took him a while to work up the energy to do something about it—he was focused on getting better—but by February 2023, he decided to contact a solicitor.
The solicitor was straightforward with him. She explained that Dublin City Council had a legal duty to maintain the public paths in their area, and that if they'd been aware of this danger—or ought to have been aware of it—they could be liable for his injury. Bartosz provided photos he'd taken of the drain just after his accident, and the solicitor sent a claim letter to the council.
The council's insurers initially asked for more detail, but when inspectors visited the site, they found the drain cover was indeed badly sunken and poorly marked. Council maintenance records showed no recent repair or inspection. Within eight months, the council accepted liability and offered compensation. After negotiation, Bartosz settled for €28,500. This covered his medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and physiotherapy. He was also reimbursed for the cost of his initial GP visits and private consultant fees.
In Ireland, local authorities like Dublin City Council have a legal duty to maintain public roads and footpaths. This duty comes from the Roads Act 1993. It's not just a nice idea—it's a legal obligation.
What this means in practice is that if a local authority knows (or reasonably ought to know) that a footpath, road, or drain is in a dangerous condition, they must repair it within a reasonable time. If they don't, and someone is injured as a result, the person injured can claim compensation.
The council isn't automatically liable for every trip or fall. But if the defect is significant—like a badly sunken drain, a large pothole, missing manhole cover, or cracked and raised paving—and they've had time to fix it or should have noticed it, then liability is likely. In Bartosz's case, the drain was sunken by several inches and unmarked. That was clearly a breach of their duty to maintain the path safely.
Councils do have a defence if they can show they carried out regular inspections and responded promptly to reports. But if there's no record of maintenance and the defect is obvious or has been there for a long time, that defence falls away. The fact that you're a member of the public—not a council employee—doesn't matter. You have the right to rely on the council keeping the path safe.
Compensation for a road or pothole injury falls into several categories. Here's what was included in Bartosz's settlement:
In total, Bartosz's claim was settled for approximately €16,500—a figure that reflects the severity of his injury, the clear liability of the council, and the documented costs of his treatment.
The key to his successful claim wasn't just the injury itself, but the evidence: medical records, proof of the pothole's existence and the council's knowledge of it, documentation of his treatment and recovery, and clear proof that the pothole was the direct cause of his fall.
No. Most pothole injury claims are settled through negotiation with the council's insurance company. Court proceedings are rare and usually only happen if a settlement cannot be agreed.
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