Renfrewshire Council paid out £627,909.06 in personal injury compensation over three years, according to figures gathered through freedom of information requests.
The council received 244 claims between 2022/23 and 2024/25. Of these, 186 were submitted by members of the public and 58 by employees.
The figures were gathered by Legal Expert as part of research into personal injury claims against UK councils.
Responding to the figures, a Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “We take employee and public safety seriously and when circumstances arise that lead to any injury, we seek to put measures in place to prevent a recurrence. When someone is injured and it is determined by our insurers that the Council has a legal liability for the injury, then an appropriate settlement is agreed.”
Across the 26 Scottish councils included in the research, 5,022 claims were recorded. Compensation payments totalled £14,298,579.05 over the three-year period.
East Dunbartonshire Council received the highest number of claims, with 836, followed by City of Edinburgh Council with 706.
City of Edinburgh Council recorded the highest total payout at £1,454,591. East Dunbartonshire Council paid £1,212,166.
The most frequent types of claims recorded across the responding councils included public liability, footway defects, potholes and employers’ liability.
East Renfrewshire Council was not included in the dataset. According to Legal Expert, it did not provide a response. Glasgow City, Highland, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar councils were also excluded for the same reason.
Legal Expert solicitor Patrick Mallon said: “These latest figures show the importance of local councils upholding their statutory duty to both their employees and their residents.
“We’ve seen far too many avoidable accidents happen over the years. Even simple slip, trip and falls have the potential to turn someone’s life upside down.
“We turn to our councils for help and support and to keep us safe in our neighbourhoods. We hope that in shining a light on these figures more action can be done to ensure public and employee safety.”
For more information, visit the Legal Expert website, here: www.legalexpert.co.uk.