Broken Leg Fall by Office Dumpster

by Sam

While dumping trash in office dumpster, I took a step backward, and the heel of my shoe entered into a hole in the blacktop. The depression caused me to fall backward on my left leg causing a break of my left femur.

The landlord's blacktop was full of holes from a truck entering to dump the dumpster. As of the current date the holes have not been repaired, six months later.

NOTICE: Any answer given here is NOT formal legal advice, it is general information about personal injury law. Charles does not represent you. If you submit a question, you agree not to rely on the information given without first consulting an attorney licensed in your state.

Answer:

You could possibly have a case. You would have to argue that you weren't aware of the holes. If you were aware, and decided to go there anyway, then you took the risk and your case wouldn't be worth much. It may be difficult to find an attorney who will take this, but it's worth a shot because of the severity of your injury.

It's very difficult to put a value on any injury because of many factors such as:

(1) the liablity scenario - as noted, if you knew the holes were there, and took the risk, the value is substantially less than if you were a pedestrian just walking by who had never been to the area;

(2) the extent of your treatment/rehab - were you in a cast for six weeks and that's it, or did you have to undergo months of therapy, was any surgery involved, etc.;

(3) did you have significant lost wages;

(4) who is the inurance company - some are more liberal with settlement offers than others;

(5) what venue would this case be brought in - different venues mean different jury pools which means different values based upon how conservative/liberal a jury pool is viewed. Injury values can double from 1 county to another.

This is just an example of information needed before a value can be put on this matter.

The fact that the concrete hasn't been repaired has no bearing on the case.

Good luck,

Charles
New York Accident Attorney

P.S. It's always best to get a free case review from a local injury attorney. Laws change from state to state. Only an attorney licensed in your state can give accurate answers to specific questions regarding your case.