UNSAFE SIDEWALK, PREMISES LIABILITY

UNSAFE SIDEWALK, PREMISES LIABILITY

In the wee hours of December 26, 2014, Michael and his family had settled into bed when they were awoken by the noise of car prowlers in their driveway. Michael and his adult sons went outside to find the prowlers still there. As he gave chase to them, he stumbled and fell over an area of the county sidewalk which was in poor repair, injuring his ankle.

Michael knew from talking with his landlord that the landlord had been complaining to the county about the condition of this sidewalk for years, so he retained Maxwell Graham to press the claim. Upon investigation, Rebeccah Graham discovered that the sidewalk was not only in serious disrepair, but that the county had received multiple complaints about it over a number of years and had failed to act to repair it. Rebeccah filed a claim with the county but was forced to file suit when the county failed to respond to the claim in any meaningful way.

During litigation, Tom Degan Jr. joined the case with Rebeccah. He was able to negotiate a settlement of $51,000 at mediation.