More than 10,500 claims for trips and slips on pavements were made in the year up to 31 May, of which 559 were successful, according to freedom of information data obtained by The AA.
An average of 29 claims per council were made, according to responses from 365 councils in the UK and the cost of successful claims averaged £2,500 per person.
A £1.2bn government plan to encourage children to walk or cycle to school has “fallen flat” with the number doing so falling by 2% in the last year, the AA said.
AA president Edmund King said: “The government and local authorities repeatedly encourage drivers to leave their cars at home and take their feet or to two wheels for short journeys.
“But the state of the pavements means walkers are expected to run the gauntlet of pavement hazards that are just as dangerous as the potholes that can injure or kill cyclists and damage cars.”
According to analysis by The AA, the largest number of successful claims were in the London Borough of Hillingdon, which paid out £346,596 on 115 successful claims.
The largest number of total claims came in Lancashire County Council, where 512 claims were made.
