Compensation claims from injured staff members have cost Leicester City Council nearly £2 million over the past five years.
Figures released by the authority show it has settled 151 claims from employees who have been hurt while on duty since 2009, paying out just over £700,000.
The council has also had to pay £1.23 million in legal fees dealing with the cases.
Payments have been made to people injured in trips and slips, as well as employees who have been hurt by faulty equipment, assaulted, injured their back lifting, suffered repetitive strain injuries, been hit by falling objects or suffered noise exposure.
One member of staff was paid £700 after being bitten by an animal and another worker, from the housing department, was paid £40,000 after suffering stress.
The council said it investigated all claims from employees and paid out when it has been negligent.
Since 2009, 63 claims by city council employees have failed.
The authority's insurance and claims manager, Brian Brookes, said: "It's the legal fees that have really hit us.
"In one case, there was an award of £10,000 but the legal fees were £44,000, another ended with a £15,000 settlement for the victim but £47,000 went into the solicitors' pockets.
"We and other councils have been saying for years the fees have been spiralling out of control and last year the Government recognised this and capped them.
"We should see the sums paid to lawyers falling in the next few years."
The Government reforms banned referral fees in personal injury cases and in conditional fee agreements – better known as no win, no fee arrangements.
The amounts paid to successful lawyers is now capped at 25 per cent of the damages recovered.
Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "The scale of the claims and the legal costs are fairly typical of a large organisation such as the city council.
"It has been clear that the amount paid to the lawyers is way, way out of proportion.
"It has been a source of consternation to councils across the country.
"These cases have been very useful money spinners for the lawyers at public expense.
"I don't for a second want to suggest people who have suffered from negligence should not be entitled to appropriate compensation – and we have to make the council a safe workplace.
"The pattern should now start to tail off after the measures taken by the Government, which I very much welcome."
In one case an employee in a city council care home won a £25,000 payout after suffering an electric shock from a faulty piece of equipment.
Another employee slipped on a wooden ramp in a playground.
Insurers thought it should have been better maintained and carried a warning sign.
A £16,000 payout was made to an employee hurt after tripping over a bag hanging on the back of a chair.
City council Unison representative Gary Garner said: "Where there is negligence it is right injured employees should get compensation.
"There are a lot of members I know who have been hurt and could have claimed but didn't."
