Disabled Wick woman's anger over paltry payout by council after pothole accident - 'it's a slap in the face'
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A severely disabled woman who complained to Highland Council after a pothole accident on her street in Wick was angered by the response sent to her.
Janet Ross says she is housebound and "too scared to go out" after the accident on October 25last year when her wheelchair keeled over after hitting a deceptively deep pothole on West Banks Terrace where she lives.
"I've never been out since the fourth of November and all I asked is for the pothole to be fixed and a ramp built so I can access the road," said Janet.
The 51-year-old, who suffered a stroke and part-amputation of a leg some years back, wrote to Highland Council to make a claim for the accident which left her severely traumatised and bruised down one side. Janet said the pain since her fall has been so bad that she sleeps in her wheelchair the whole night in the sitting room rather than lie down in bed and has had to significantly increase her Oramorph painkiller medication.
Her partner, Ronnie Irodenko, helped fill out the claim forms and said he would be quite happy if Highland Council compensated Janet by lowering the pavement so the wheelchair can get out. Ronnie acts as Janet's full-time carer and said that the couple had been feeling "totally ignored" by the local authority until a letter recently arrived stating that Highland Council would pay £45 compensation to replace the wheelchair cosy – a cover that keeps the user's legs warm – that was torn in the accident. The letter stated that the compensation would only be paid if the enclosed Form of Discharge was signed and returned.
The Form of Discharge, if signed, states that Janet accepts the sum of £45 in "full and final settlement" of her claim against Highland Council. It goes on to say: "The claim is in respect of all loss, injury and damage suffered by me and arising from the incident on or around 25th October 2021. I understand that payment to which reference is made above is made entirely without admission or liability on neither The Highland Council nor their Insurer and may not be founded on in any manner whatsoever."
Ronnie said the letter was a "slap in the face" to Janet after she had suffered so much after the fall and talked of feeling "totally disgusted" when reading it initially.
"I haven't signed it and have no intention of signing it," said Janet. "It's bloody stupid."
Ronnie added: "We're not accepting that £45. At least they could have given us a hand lowering the pavement. Janet has been treated unfairly and it's an insult.
"We're getting an appointment with Citizen's Advice to see what can be done. We're not asking for much and thought they could have compensated us by lowering the pavement."
On Thursday afternoon, the couple informed the paper that the pothole on West Banks Terrace that caused Janet's wheelchair accident had still not been filled in and was "getting deeper and deeper every time the roadsweeper comes up and sucks stuff out".
"It just makes them look like fools – saying they'd fill it in and they haven't," added Ronnie.
When asked for an update on when the pothole would be filled, a Highland Council spokesperson said: “To help our Roads Teams locate and repair road defects - potholes can be reported to the Council using the 24/7 online 'report a problem' form for potholes that is available on our website at www.highland.gov.uk/report or by phoning the Service Centre on 01349 886601. A site visit to this location has been instructed to see if the pothole in question can be repaired.”
On Monday, January 31, the council contacted the paper to say that the pothole has now been filled. When asked to comment further on Janet's claim a spokesperson added: "We cannot comment on individual cases."
Related story:
Disabled woman's pothole pains after fall on Wick street
