Is this injury claim worth making a case?

[anonymous88]

Toward the end of the summer (5 months ago) I was out with some friends at a party and decided to come home. I tried getting into the front entrance of the residence by calling someone in the home (left my keys inside) but no one answered. I proceeded to try the back entrance and ended up falling into a six foot hole near the landlord's pool. It was very dark and I ended up slipping into it, I would admit that I was drunk but not completely intoxicated. The hole had sharp cement and I ended up hitting my ear which required seven stitches. Some further backstory is I did actually report this hole to the city about a month before because I was afraid some type of accident like this would happen. It is 5 months later and the hole is still not fixed, do I have any legal recourse and is it even worth pursuing? thank you for any help.

 

[justalayman]

so, what is the purpose of this hole. Seems to be an odd thing to just leave laying around, I mean, heck, somebody could fall in it and get hurt.



do you live with you landlord?



did you report the incident to somebody?

 

[anonymous88]

The purpose of the hole has something to do with a renovation to the pool area which obviously was never completed. Yes, I am still living at the same residence and no I did not make a police report but I did make a complaint with the Buildings department BEFORE this happened. Which makes me believe the city is liable also. No police report was made, just medical records of treatment.

 

[quincy]

The purpose of the hole has something to do with a renovation to the pool area which obviously was never completed. Yes, I am still living at the same residence and no I did not make a police report but I did make a complaint with the Buildings department BEFORE this happened. Which makes me believe the city is liable also. No police report was made, just medical records of treatment.

What is the name of your state?

 

[anonymous88]

The state is New York

 

[quincy]

So, you were aware of the existence of the deep hole near the pool.

Is the pool area and the area of the hole fenced off?

Did you have to do any gymnastics (vaulting over a fence) to get to the back entrance of the residence?

Was the owner of the residence ever cited by the building department?

How has the owner of the residence addressed the matter with you? Has there been an offer to pay medical bills?

The homeowner has insurance, I presume. Do you know if the homeowner has reported your accident to the insurance company?

 

[justalayman]

The city has no liability here...period

If you did not report this to your landlord or police at the time of the incident you will likely receive resistance in any claim you make. If you can't prove where it happened it becomes more difficult.

You might be able to get the medical expenses covered by the landlord or his insurance but given you are negligent here due to being inebriated you may have a difficult time with it.

The medical bill is obviously relatively cheap so finding a lawyer to accept this in any fashion other than you pay out of your pocket as you go is unlikely.

So, talk to your landlord and see where it goes. I would not spend too much time or effort on it given the circumstances.

 

[anonymous88]

I understand I was negligent for being drunk but wouldn't the homeowner be negligent also? I did report this hole to the homeowner and got no where so I ended up making a claim with the city a good month or two before this happened. The hole is still there and not even fixed which infuriates me. In the NYC area it is actually a law that you must have a fence around your in-ground pool when not in use.

 

[Proserpina]

I understand I was negligent for being drunk but wouldn't the homeowner be negligent also? I did report this hole to the homeowner and got no where so I ended up making a claim with the city a good month or two before this happened. The hole is still there and not even fixed which infuriates me. In the NYC area it is actually a law that you must have a fence around your in-ground pool when not in use.

Is "not in use" the same (for the purposes of your thread) as "under construction/repair"?

 

[Zigner]

The pool/fence concern is wholly irrelevant since you didn't fall in the pool.

 

[quincy]

I understand I was negligent for being drunk but wouldn't the homeowner be negligent also? I did report this hole to the homeowner and got no where so I ended up making a claim with the city a good month or two before this happened. The hole is still there and not even fixed which infuriates me. In the NYC area it is actually a law that you must have a fence around your in-ground pool when not in use.

Are you in NYC?

Can you answer my other questions? And how close is the hole to the back entry of the house?

 

[anonymous88]

Yes, I am in NYC. The pool area is nor is the area of the hole fenced off. I did no "gymnastics" at all to get to the back entrance of the residence. I believe they were cited because I made the complaint but obviously nothing was enforced since it is still there to this day. We have talked about the matter, I am not concerned about medical bills because they were covered completely by my insurance with nothing out of pocket. The homeowner has not reported the accident to the insurance company.

 

[quincy]

Yes, I am in NYC. The pool area is nor is the area of the hole fenced off. I did no "gymnastics" at all to get to the back entrance of the residence. I believe they were cited because I made the complaint but obviously nothing was enforced since it is still there to this day. We have talked about the matter, I am not concerned about medical bills because they were covered completely by my insurance with nothing out of pocket. The homeowner has not reported the accident to the insurance company.

Okay. So you were injured and your medical expenses have been fully covered. Any legal action you would have had would have been against the owner of the residence where the hole is located, to cover the costs of your injury.

I think what you can do now is to keep pestering the city with complaints about the homeowner's hole and pester the homeowner until he takes action to fill the hole in or block it off. You could also take action on your own and purchase orange cones at the hardware store to place around the hole. Hand the receipt for the cones to the homeowner.

Good luck.