Can I sue if my son if he injured himself in a ditch that was worked on by the city but never finished?
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Can I sue if my son if he injured himself in a ditch that was worked on by the city but never finished?
My son was running home and tripped in a ditch. He strained his shoulder and had to miss school. The ditch was worked on a year ago but was never finished. There are no cones, tape or any type of warning around the ditch. I have pics. They put one little concrete slab and left the rest of this big ditch.
Asked on April 27, 2011 under Personal Injury, Connecticut
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
You might be able to sue, if (1) it was negligent to either not finish the ditch or, if not going to finish it, to not block or mark it off in some fashion; and (2) the city had notice, or knowledge, of the condition. If it was a municipal project, then (2) would seem to be met; and as for (1), negligence means more careless than the hypothetical reasonable person--e.g. a reasonable person would have done something differently.
Note that is usually a short time frame to file a claim against a city (or state, or government agency) and strict paperwork requirements to comply with in order to do so. If you are interested in pursuing this further, you should speak with an attorney about the matter *immediately*.
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