unknown-user
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? UK
I was called to help an acquaintance Nathan will be his name lift up a storage facility gate. He was renting storage place at the location and earlier that day, a truck that came to deliver some containers to him knocked down the gate accidentally. The Storage facilitys manager complained about the gate and Nathan gave him details of the truck drivers company so he could pursue them to fix the gate. The manager decline and instead put pressure on Nathan to fix the gate that same day. That was what led to Nathan ringing me for help. I was renting office space at the same facility and was in my own office just minding my business when the call from Nathan came. I initially declined but on Nathans insistent supplication and begging, i relented and said I would help them lift the gate only this one time and that they should never call me for such tasks again. I felt that the task was dangerous and ill-thought. I tried to lift the gate from the side, calculating that it would minimize the risks of an injury to me but Nathan specifically came to me and said they needed my help lifting the gate at the center. 3 of us lifted the gate erect on a pallet truck while the manger of the storage facility jacked up the pallet truck and tried to move the pallet truck with gate supported erect on it such that it aligned with the concrete column from which it was hanging before it got knocked down by the truck. From the sudden jacking movements of the pallet truck, the gate fell off it and started falling forwards. Nathan and the other person carrying the gate with me were on either side of the gate so were able to get out of the way easily. I was at the center and was thus trapped. The gate was about 250 kg and made of solid metal. It fell on me and broke my leg in multiple places, resulting in a severe and open fracture. I was taken to hospital and spent 3 weeks there and 3 operations before I was discharged. At the end of those 3 weeks I had an ilizarov frame fitted and was told it would take 9-12 months before I could function like I used to do before the accident. When I came out of hospital, I challenged Nathan and the Manager of the storage facility about why they acted so carelessly as to cause me a long term injury. Nathan apologized for the part he played but the manger of the storage facility denied he knew what he was doing when he was manipulating the pallet truck resulting in the gate falling down and he later totally denied manipulating the pallet truck at all even when I directly questioned him. He just lied point blank. He claimed that all he did was support the truck with his foot. I feel that I have been drawn into a problem that wasn't mine and once injured, all the parties pulled and went about their lives as normal while they expected me to bear the consequences of the injury by myself. I feel this is unfair. How can I legally make the manger of the Storage facility and possibly Nathan himself face the consequences of their actions? I would like them to pay for my medical costs or at least contribute considerably towards alleviating my problems. This accident came at a very trying time fro my family. My wife is pregnant and I am un-able to work for 12 months.
p.s: The storage facility are claiming that the gate in question was on land that does not belong to them as (they claim) they were only being allowed to use the gate and car park by a different company. However they never indicated this fact in the rental contract signed with them when I rented the place. When I confronted the manger of the storage facility about this, he said he didnt know who owned the carpark on which the gate was situated.
I was called to help an acquaintance Nathan will be his name lift up a storage facility gate. He was renting storage place at the location and earlier that day, a truck that came to deliver some containers to him knocked down the gate accidentally. The Storage facilitys manager complained about the gate and Nathan gave him details of the truck drivers company so he could pursue them to fix the gate. The manager decline and instead put pressure on Nathan to fix the gate that same day. That was what led to Nathan ringing me for help. I was renting office space at the same facility and was in my own office just minding my business when the call from Nathan came. I initially declined but on Nathans insistent supplication and begging, i relented and said I would help them lift the gate only this one time and that they should never call me for such tasks again. I felt that the task was dangerous and ill-thought. I tried to lift the gate from the side, calculating that it would minimize the risks of an injury to me but Nathan specifically came to me and said they needed my help lifting the gate at the center. 3 of us lifted the gate erect on a pallet truck while the manger of the storage facility jacked up the pallet truck and tried to move the pallet truck with gate supported erect on it such that it aligned with the concrete column from which it was hanging before it got knocked down by the truck. From the sudden jacking movements of the pallet truck, the gate fell off it and started falling forwards. Nathan and the other person carrying the gate with me were on either side of the gate so were able to get out of the way easily. I was at the center and was thus trapped. The gate was about 250 kg and made of solid metal. It fell on me and broke my leg in multiple places, resulting in a severe and open fracture. I was taken to hospital and spent 3 weeks there and 3 operations before I was discharged. At the end of those 3 weeks I had an ilizarov frame fitted and was told it would take 9-12 months before I could function like I used to do before the accident. When I came out of hospital, I challenged Nathan and the Manager of the storage facility about why they acted so carelessly as to cause me a long term injury. Nathan apologized for the part he played but the manger of the storage facility denied he knew what he was doing when he was manipulating the pallet truck resulting in the gate falling down and he later totally denied manipulating the pallet truck at all even when I directly questioned him. He just lied point blank. He claimed that all he did was support the truck with his foot. I feel that I have been drawn into a problem that wasn't mine and once injured, all the parties pulled and went about their lives as normal while they expected me to bear the consequences of the injury by myself. I feel this is unfair. How can I legally make the manger of the Storage facility and possibly Nathan himself face the consequences of their actions? I would like them to pay for my medical costs or at least contribute considerably towards alleviating my problems. This accident came at a very trying time fro my family. My wife is pregnant and I am un-able to work for 12 months.
p.s: The storage facility are claiming that the gate in question was on land that does not belong to them as (they claim) they were only being allowed to use the gate and car park by a different company. However they never indicated this fact in the rental contract signed with them when I rented the place. When I confronted the manger of the storage facility about this, he said he didnt know who owned the carpark on which the gate was situated.
