THE Corporation of Hamilton is being urged to carry out repairs to damaged sidewalks after one senior suffered broken bones in a Reid Street fall.

And the 67 year old, who asked not to be named, is also seeking compensation from the authority, which she claims knew of the hazard several months ago.

The woman said that she was attempting to get into her car, parked outside the Gibbons Company store on Reid Street, when the mishap took place four weeks ago.

"As I was about to reach for the car door, my foot caught in the space between the paving stone and the kerb," she said.

"It twisted my body, I fell heavily on my right side and my right hand took the worst of it."

The woman sought medical treatment and doctors discovered that she had broken two fingers in her hand. She has been forced to wear a cast ever since and as a result cannot work or drive her car.

"I have never had any fractures in my life before this incident but now taxis are our only form of transport," she said.

The woman's husband told the Mid-Ocean News he believed the Corporation was negligent because it should have fixed the fault earlier.

"I understand that the Corporation knew about this a few months ago," he said.

"But if the Corporation has been aware of the problem for the last two months then that's not good enough.

"We don't want to make a big issue of this but my bride was seriously hurt by this flop. Unfortunately it seems that it takes something like this to happen before anyone gets around to fixing it."

The couple said they contacted the Mid-Ocean News because they wanted other pedestrians to be aware of the hazard.

"People do need to be made aware of this," he said.

"And the Corporation should be thankful that we're not Americans, who would really go after them."

The woman has now written to the Corporation in the hope of being compensated for her injuries.