Man Sues Post Office After Flagpole Malfunction
A man in the parking lot of the post office suffered a head injury after the rusted pole broke off and struck him in the head. He has since filed a lawsuit seeking a recovery of more than $30,000. According to the complaint, the flagpole was unreasonably dangerous due to a rusted base.
Reading the complaint, it’s difficult to determine what injuries the plaintiff suffered as a result of being struck in the head with a flagpole. The complaint is light on specifics and instead, broadly addresses categories of injury that require medical expense. In personal injury filings, it is often difficult to determine the extent of a plaintiff’s injuries until months or even years have passed. That is just one of the reasons why lawsuits take a long time to settle.
In this case, you have a premises liability lawsuit filed against the post office. The post office is alleged to be responsible for the property’s maintenance and allowed a flagpole with a rusted base to accrue damage until one day, it cracked off its base and struck a customer in the head. With due deference to other factors that may not be mentioned in the complaint, a lawsuit like this sounds like it is most likely to result in significant compensation for the plaintiff.
Understanding premises liability lawsuits
A proprietor who invites others onto their property for their own financial benefit owes an invitee the strongest duty of care under the law. Those who go to do business are afforded special protections. Most premises liability lawsuits are filed under this theory of liability. Nonetheless, the plaintiff needs to establish that there was some form of negligence. Negligence isn’t established by the fact of the injury, but the proprietor’s relationship to the dangerous condition.
In cases where you have a slip and fall accident, the plaintiff must be able to establish that the proprietor knew or should have known about the dangerous condition had ordinary care been exercised. So, the proprietor can still claim they didn’t know about the dangerous condition and defeat the claim. However, when you have a flagpole that’s been slowly rusting for a decade and it collapses, injuring a patron, the law holds you responsible for not maintaining the premises in safe condition. It would be assumed that the proprietor should have known about the rusted flagpole or inspected it at least once before it fell over. In other words, even in the proprietor had no idea that the flagpole was rusted, ordinary care rendered to ensure the safety of the premises would have caught the problem sooner. It never happened, someone is injured, and therefore, the post office is liable.
Talk to a Tampa Premises Liability Attorney Today
If you have been injured due to a dangerous condition on someone else’s property, the Tampa personal injury attorneys at The Matassini Law Firm can help you recover damages related to your injuries. Call today to set up a free consultation and we can begin discussing your options today.
Resource:
law.com/dailybusinessreview/2022/02/25/man-hit-on-head-with-rusted-flagpole-sues-postal-service/
