Mass. Woman Sues N.H. City for $750K Over Ankle Injury

A New Hampshire city is being sued in a personal injury matter involving a woman’s ankle injury, reports Sea Coast News.

Mary Reed of Rockport, Mass., is suing the city of Portsmouth, N.H., after she stepped into a hole in a city park. She is suing the city for $750,000.

Reed alleges that she was taking a stroll through the park to get a closer look at a statue in June 2011.

Reed claims she stepped into a deep hole, hidden by grass, at the park. The resultant fall left her with what she claims are permanent injuries.

Oddly enough, she’s not the only plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Mary Reed’s husband Richard is also named as a plaintiff in the suit. He is alleging loss of consortium, according to Sea Coast News.

That may be a bit far-fetched, but his claim is basically that as a result of his wife’s injury, he has lost the “society, companionship, services and consortium of his injured wife.”

In other words, he ain’t gettin’ any.

Last May, attorneys speaking on behalf of the city (namely, the attorneys from the city’s insurance provider) told a federal district court that the city was immune from liability, under a law that grants immunity to landowners who allow free public access to their land.

They also cited the theory of comparative negligence. In Massachusetts, a plaintiff may recover only if her comparative fault is no more than the defendant’s share of the overall fault. And even if she can recover, her damages will be reduced by her share of the fault.

At dispute in the case will be the size of the hole that Reed stepped into. By the time the case goes to trial in June, there may no longer be a hole (in fact, there likely isn’t a hole anymore). So testimony might hinge on medical experts and their opinion on how big the hole must have been.

Related Resources:

• Search Boston Personal Injury Lawyers (FindLaw)
• Beware Slip and Fall Lawsuits This Halloween! (FindLaw’s Boston Personal Injury Law News)
• Negligence (FindLaw)