What can I do if my foot was severely injured in a parking lot on a broken garden stake?
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What can I do if my foot was severely injured in a parking lot on a broken garden stake?
About 9 months ago I was running through a parking lot to grab my wallet. On my way back to the store, I hopped across a tree partition within the parking lot and my left foot landed right on a broken garden stake that was invisible to me. It went straight through my left foot, resulting in a serious foot injury that kept me off my feet. It was the absolute most painful thing that has ever occurred. It is 8 months after the injury and I’m having shooting pains, and nerve problems in that left foot that I’ve never had before. Now that the injury has partially healed and passed what legal action can I take?
Asked on November 22, 2014 under Personal Injury, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
You can try to sue the property owner (or whomever would be responsible for maintenance in the area where you hurt yourself) but you are, based on what you write, unlikely to win:
1) You "hopped across a tree partition"--that is, you were in an area you should not have been. A property owner owes a duty of "reasonable," but not absolute or total, care to persons on his property. That includes keeping safe areas where they could be expected to go--but does not obligate the property owner to make safe areas where a person should not walk.
2) Furthermore, the property owner only has to correct dangerous conditions of which he is or reasonably should be aware. There is no reason to think the owner would or should be aware of an "invisible" broken stake. If the owner didn't know of the hazard, he is not liable for it.
3) You were running through a parking lot, or being careless. If you were rushing without looking at where you were stepping, that means that it was your carelessness which caused or contributed to the injury. The property owner is not liable for your carelessness.
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