'˜I'm thinking of suing' says lawyer injured in street fall

A man who sounded a warning about inadequate street lighting in Haywards Heath two years ago says he is now considering suing after injuring himself in a fall.
Feliks Kwiatkowski is complaining about the level of light emission from street lights. Pic Steve Robards SUS-140804-110628001Feliks Kwiatkowski is complaining about the level of light emission from street lights. Pic Steve Robards SUS-140804-110628001
Feliks Kwiatkowski is complaining about the level of light emission from street lights. Pic Steve Robards SUS-140804-110628001

Feliks Kwiatkowski, a lawyer, of Harlands Close, hurt his right hand after falling near his home last week. And, he says, he believes poor street lighting in the area was responsible for the accident.

“I blame the fall entirely on the new, grossly inadequate, street lighting, concerning which I protested about two years ago,” he said.

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“This shows every sign of fitting the definition of ‘an accident waiting to happen’. It’s just ironic that it happened to me, and I can’t imagine that I’m the only one to have been a victim of the downgraded lighting.”

Mr Kwiatkowski first complained about the lighting in April 2014 and said: “The new lights individually emit much less light than the old lights, and that is a matter of cold, observable fact.” He said it needed to be upgraded.

West Sussex County Council, which is responsible for street lighting, completed the replacement of 68,000 ‘outdated’ street lights last year in a five-year county-wide project.

A county council spokesman said: “Lighting levels have been decided based upon the road type and location in accordance with nationally agreed lighting standards.”

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The new lights use a whiter light and are cheaper to maintain. They can be dimmed or turned off after midnight, the spokesman added. “These modern, energy-saving lights also reduce carbon emissions by up to 25 per cent compared to the older ones.”