Bike accident over sinkhole

[jjduke]

I live in Michigan and in June I was riding my bike on a paved bike trail in one of our countie's metroparks. The previous day was rain filled and parts of the bike trail were underwater. I was heading back to where I was parked and after crossing a road I came up on a sinkhole that apparently developed very recently in the bike trail. The hole spread the entire width of the paved trail and was about 2 feet wide and over a foot deep. After crossing the road and starting to accelerate I did not see the hole until it was too late. I toppled over and was severely injured and rushed to the hospital, (broken collarbone in 3 places requiring surgery to fix, metal plate and 8 screws, torn thigh muscle and head injury).
I did miss some work but the pain and suffering was immense.
I have contacted a personal injury lawyer but have yet to hear back from him.
My question is "do I have a case against the metropark"?
The sinkhole was not barricaded and I have pictures showing so. Should the metropark have some kind of insurance to cover these type of accidents?
It appears that there was previous work that was done in this area of the trail and they did not strengthen the ground enough thus resulting in it sinking.
The lawyer brought up a couple of points, government immunity because the metroparks are tied to the county government, and whether I had enough time to clearly see this hole and try to avoid it, which was not the case. If I had not hit it someone else would have.
I would appreciate any comments or advice as I have never been in this situation before. This lawyer came with good references but like I said, we are still waiting for him to decide what to do. Thank you.

[xylene]

Originally Posted by jjduke

The lawyer brought up a couple of points, government immunity because the metroparks are tied to the county government, and whether I had enough time to clearly see this hole and try to avoid it, which was not the case. If I had not hit it someone else would have.
I would appreciate any comments or advice as I have never been in this situation before. This lawyer came with good references but like I said, we are still waiting for him to decide what to do. Thank you.

The lawyer is quite right, and that is why the delay in taking your case.

Despite your serious injuries, the issue the lawyer raised about immunity greatly complicates your situation

[jjduke]

In regard to government immunity, he did say that because I was a paying customer (you need a park sticker to enter the park) it may not apply.
They also have a waterpark in this park and they need to have insurance to cover any accidents that may occur there, thus they would need to also cover patrons using their bike trails.

[Zigner]

Beyond immunity...
You would need to prove that the town knew (or reasonably should have known) about the sink-hole and did nothing to prevent this sort of situation.
You admitted that the sink-hole had formed very recently. Apparently YOU were the first to know about.

Honestly, it sounds to me like you were riding recklessly and were unable to avoid obstacles in your way. You're lucky it wasn't a child who darted on to the path ahead of you...

ETA: You should research the concept of "Assumption of the risk"

[xylene]

Originally Posted by Zigner

ETA: You should research the concept of "Assumption of the risk"

I think the case could hinge on if the unsuitable construction of the path was an issue.

A parallel-

I can assume certain risks in riding a waterslide, that doesn't mean I would assume the slide collapsing from shoddy work...

[jjduke]

Excuse me. Define "riding recklessly"?
I crossed a road slowly and began to accelerate.
What is reckless about that?
The only way to avoid this hole was to go completley around the trail. Mind you the trail is about 8-10 feet wide and pouring out the sides are large rocks due to the fact that it was a drain underneath.
Please get the facts before you make an accusation like that.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by jjduke

Excuse me. Define "riding recklessly"?

How about: After crossing the road and starting to accelerate I did not see the hole until it was too late.

I crossed a road slowly and began to accelerate.
What is reckless about that?
The only way to avoid this hole was to go completley around the trail.

You could have stopped. Oh wait, you were riding too fast to stop.

Mind you the trail is about 8-10 feet wide and pouring out the sides are large rocks due to the fact that it was a drain underneath.
Please get the facts before you make an accusation like that.

I have the facts - exactly as you posted them.

[jjduke]

You would be right if the hole was obvious and I could see it from a safe distance. This was not the case. This area was previously worked on, the color of the patch was darker than the rest of the asphalt. One could mistake the hole for the repair patch. Plus if I had previously ridden over it why would I expect it to now be a HOLE?
What don't you understand? This was an obviously dangerous situation created by shoddy work and mother nature. It was not clear and being a 49 year old man I do not ride my bike like a 5 year old. I watch where I'm going, I've rode this trail hundreds of times. Why should I expect a chunk of the trail to sink like it did? If I was riding in a car and the same thing happened would it be my fault?
You may be playing the devils advocate, but you sure act smarmy and annoying.

[Country Living]

You said it rained the day before and parts of the bike trail were under water. In the car world, the accident may be considered "too fast for conditions" or "failure to control".

If you already have an attorney, why are you here?

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by jjduke

You would be right if the hole was obvious and I could see it from a safe distance. This was not the case. This area was previously worked on, the color of the patch was darker than the rest of the asphalt. One could mistake the hole for the repair patch. Plus if I had previously ridden over it why would I expect it to now be a HOLE?
What don't you understand? This was an obviously dangerous situation created by shoddy work and mother nature. It was not clear and being a 49 year old man I do not ride my bike like a 5 year old. I watch where I'm going, I've rode this trail hundreds of times. Why should I expect a chunk of the trail to sink like it did? If I was riding in a car and the same thing happened would it be my fault?
You may be playing the devils advocate, but you sure act smarmy and annoying.

I'm not playing devil's advocate in this one. I feel that you were riding too fast for the conditions prevalent at the time of your accident.

[jjduke]

Like I said, I have yet to hear from him.
I also wanted to get some different takes on it.
I'm not a lawyer and don't pretend to know everything.
All I know is that I was not at fault in this accident and
I feel the metropark should assume some sort of responsibility.
After all, why do thay have insurance for their facilities?
If this does not qualify, then what does?

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by jjduke

Like I said, I have yet to hear from him.
I also wanted to get some different takes on it.
I'm not a lawyer and don't pretend to know everything.
All I know is that I was not at fault in this accident and
I feel the metropark should assume some sort of responsibility.
After all, why do thay have insurance for their facilities?
If this does not qualify, then what does?

Why do you think the park should take responsibility for an act of nature that JUST HAPPENED? And, why should they take responsibility for the risk you assumed by riding your bike shortly after a rain storm when the ground was wet? And, why should they take responsibility for YOU riding too fast for those conditions?

I don't believe you set out to crash your bike that day, but it WAS your actions that caused the accident.

[Stevef]

Originally Posted by jjduke

Plus if I had previously ridden over it why would I expect it to now be a HOLE?

So how would the park know to warn you?

This was an obviously dangerous situation created by shoddy work and mother nature.

Who was more at fault, the shoddy workmen or Mother Nature?

You can either sue Mother Nature (but I doubt you will be able to properly serve her) or you can attempt to prove that the workmen knew, or should have known, that the sinkhole would form.

That will also involve finding the contractor who hired the workmen, as it probably was not done by government employees.

All in all, it sounds like an expensive battle to wage, what with the expert witnesses needed to prove the design or workmanship was faulty.

In any event, good luck to you.

[ecmst12]

The burden is always going to be on the operator of any vehicle (motor or otherwise) to be alert and aware of his surroundings and see and avoid any fixed hazards on the road.

Riding a bike on a water-covered trail is pretty dumb.

[jjduke]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

The burden is always going to be on the operator of any vehicle (motor or otherwise) to be alert and aware of his surroundings and see and avoid any fixed hazards on the road.

Riding a bike on a water-covered trail is pretty dumb.

Let's see, I ride over a section of the trail that I've ridden over a hundred times. It is not a "fixed hazard" and I am aware of all that is around me, including the fact that I am crossing a road and I'm trying to be aware of cars pulling onto this road from three different directions. The sinkhole was there immediately when the trail resumes. Given the fact that I've previously ridden over this area why would I expect there to be a sinkhole?

Let me be clear, the trail is not water covered. The only area where you would encounter water is when you reach the area where it goes over the River. There were other bike riders on that day. I guess they were all dumb too.
The sinkhole was not something you would expect to encounter on this paved trail. It was caused by shoddy work when they installed/repaired a drain going underneath the trail.
I'm sorry I posted to this forum. I thought I might get some decent advice but all I get are comments that add up to "Blame the victim".
I'd think that if all of you who want to blame me were to encounter the same situation you'd be taking a different view. Thanks for nothing and don't bother to reply, I won't be reading it.