Johan (78) in two-year battle for fall pay-out
Johan MacDonald on the phone again, still waiting two years on for her claim after tripping on a pavement slab.
A PENSIONER who was badly injured when she tripped on a raised paving stone more than two years ago claims she is being given the run around about whether she is going to receive compensation.
Johan MacDonald (76) hit the Highland News headlines after she ended up in Raigmore Hospital after she took a tumble in Milton Crescent, cutting her nose and cheek and injuring her right arm at the end of January 2009.
Whilst a week later the HN reported victory for Mrs MacDonald after the council agreed to fix the paving stones, two years on she is still out of pocket.
Mrs MacDonald this week said she has been left frustrated. She claims the council initially said it would compensate her, but three months later changed its mind.
She told the HN: "Last September my solicitor confirmed that I had been successful in my claim for compensation, but here I am over four months later still waiting.
"I have just received a letter from the claims company saying the council has now decided it isn’t responsible. How can it not be responsible when the council went out and fixed the slabs. They took responsibility then, why not now?
"I am not normally one to sue people, but the fall I took in January 2007 was my second on council paths and enough was enough.
"At the time I got an awful fright. My nose was all cut, as well as my cheek. I also had a very bad pain in my arm, going right down to my ribs.
"My daughter had to leave work to take me to Raigmore Hospital to get checked out.
"Luckily nothing was broken. I was very dazed and sore and got such a fright over the whole thing."
However, she was annoyed she had not seen any of the compensation yet.
"I am still waiting to see the money and now I don’t know what is happening. It’s very frustrating.
"They are spending thousands of pounds a year on nonsense, they just waste money, but they can’t get it together to pay me."
Mrs MacDonald, who lives in Mackenzie Road, added: "The council did repair the slabs quickly, but the pavements round here are still a mess. It is like walking on a jigsaw puzzle."
Mrs MacDonald fell on her way to pick up her great-grand-daughter from school. Her grand-daughter rang Highland Council to inform them of the loose paving slabs, but the complaints fell on deaf ears.
It was only when the Highland News got involved that it agreed to repair the loose and cracked slab.
A Highland Council spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that this case has been handed over to our insurance company. We cannot comment further on this matter."
