Q: I fell into an unmarked 6-ish inch deep hole on the public sidewalk while carrying groceries. Tripped and fell.
I was carrying groceries from my car on the street, up to apartment and stepped into an unmarked hole in the sidewalk that would have normally housed a tree. I scraped up my knees pretty horribly and received a small puncture from the edge of the grate which covered the part of the hole where the tree would not have been. Think square grate, round hole in the center. This puncture aggravated an old surgery site on my knee. Haven’t seen a doctor because I’m tough but I did buy a brace to wear because I walk A Lot at work. Not sure if this is even worth doing anything about…
A: A Minnesota attorney could advise best, but your question remains open for a week. I'm sorry for your accident and your ordeal with the injuries. Your courage is admirable, but there's nothing wrong with seeing a doctor, simply as a means to make sure that you're okay internally and check on any impact on the original knee surgery. You could reach out to attorneys in Minnesota to try to arrange a free initial consult - you could learn about your rights and options there. Keep in mind that with public property, you might be looking at very short filing deadlines (notices of claim), in the order of days in some states. A local attorney could advise best there. So, if you are considering pursuing this, it would be best for you to act sooner than later. Good luck
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