By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – An attorney for the blind man who fell into an uncovered storm drain alongside a Chehalis sidewalk last summer has filed a lawsuit on his behalf, after the city denied a claim for damages.
Tim Franklin, now 43, was walking to the Safeway grocery store to buy milk when he dropped into a brick-lined pit late at night on July 11, 2012.
Tim Franklin
He smacked his head and struggled for about five minutes to get out because his foot was wedged under a small pipe about halfway down.
Police and aid arriving to the corner of Southwest 11th Street at Market Boulevard found him just pulling himself out. He declined to go to the hospital, but went to a doctor the following day, he said.
Franklin, who moved to Daytona, Florida this spring after residing in Chehalis for 10 years, was fairly low key about the incident then, and still makes light of it somewhat.
People don’t believe him when he tells them he fell in a manhole, he said. Because that’s like a joke, a blind man falling into a manhole, he said.
He seems just surprised the city wouldn’t take responsibility for the missing cover.
“They should have bolted it down or something, it’s weird,” he said.
The claim filed in March was for damages in the amount of just over $30,000. It notes he has headaches, pain in his neck and shoulders and elsewhere and that he has fear and apprehension about walking around town due to fear of falling again.
Chehalis attorney Joseph Mano Jr. also wrote that Franklin gave up working in his wood shop because of the inability to turn his head and look down.
Peggy Hammer, with the city of Chehalis said it wasn’t the city that rejected the claim, it was the city’s insurer.
“In general, there are findings the city has to be aware of the situation to be liable,” she said.
Hammer alluded to something the fire department mentioned last year, that metal thieves had been stealing the covers.
The lawsuit was filed in Lewis County Superior Court two weeks ago. The city’s attorney has 20 days to respond.
It asks for an amount to be proven for general and special damages, plus costs.
The filing mentions Franklin’s medical care, pain and lessened capacity to enjoy life.
Mano writes the city had been making repairs at the location, and in the course of the work, a large hole was developed in the sidewalk area which the city failed to cover or ensure was safe for pedestrians.
Franklin said he sold his woodworking tools and decided it’s time for a job in which he relies on his brain instead of physical labor. He previously built birdhouses, cabinets and chicken houses.
“It might be time to learn some computers,” he said in a telephone interview today.
He and his his oldest son relocated to Florida, he said, because his sister lives there, his mother spends a lot of time there and Daytona has good job opportunities for the blind.
He’s currently playing guitar at an old folks home, and would like to expand the musical side of his life, he said. It’s $40 an hour, but only for two hours each month, he said.
“They like the old hymns,” he said.
He said he hadn’t heard from his lawyer since he was told the claim was turned down. He said he hopes they might be able to conduct whatever interviews are needed by telephone.
Franklin said he wasn’t angry when it happened, but he’s beginning to feel differently now.
“Now I’m getting mad, cause they denied the claim” he said without raising his voice or changing his tone. “Sheesh. What am I supposed to do about my medical bills?”
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For background, read “Missing manhole cover trips blind man” from Thursday July 12, 2012, here
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