Bridget Tamakloe, 42, is suing Norfolk County and Norwich City Council for allegedly not gritting icy city centre paths. Mrs. Tamakloe fell on an icy Prince of Wales Road while walking home after her night shift at the Norwich Railway Station, which resulted in a broken shoulder.

Stating numerous problems arising from the accident, she took two months leave from work to recover from her fall, at her doctor's insistence to allow her broken shoulder to heal, but I am still in a lot of pain from it.

Due to continued difficulties sleeping, and the entire experience leaving her depressed and anxious, Mrs. Tamakloe has taken an additional 3 months off work to be treated for severe depression. The plaintiff believes that Norwich County and the City Council are at fault and she should be compensated for her lost time at work and her mental anguish.

Mark Hambling, who is a personal injury claims expert at Norwich's Rogers and the solicitor of record for Norton has a different view. The council has a duty of reasonable care and it needs to be established whether this was breached. The courts do not look for absolute perfection on the city's part to care for and maintain public properties. However, if a reasonable system is in place to keep roads and pavements safe; then Norfolk County should not be to blame in this case. Mr. Hambling stated, "Obviously the city council cannot be expected to be making roads safe every minute of every day, so I would be dubious about this case winning any compensation."

According to the Norfolk County Council, they have carried out a full investigation in this case and the accident involving Mrs. Tamakloe, whom the council wrote to in December vehemently denying any liability. The spokesperson for the council stated that the road was gritted as a priority route. "We grit pavements only at times of long term snow and ice cover. This is in line with national best practice." Essentially, the Norfolk County Council is asserting that any citizen is free to pursue a case and expect to be paid compensation. However, for the citizen to be successful, several points would require proof including that the council neglected their duty of care and that the council did not meet its burdens of responsibility to the care of public areas. Furthermore, the claimant must prove that the accident or injury was a direct result of this lack of care.