Brian Echstein writes:
I am a 73 year old male pensioner and on Tuesday 3 February, at approximately 10:30am, I had parked not far from Milpark Hospital where I was going to visit my son who was in ICU following surgery.
Due to insufficient parking at the hospital, and the traffic congestion this causes, I was forced to park my car in an adjacent street opposite the German school.
As I set off on foot on Napier Road – quite a distance from the hospital’s entrance – I was looking for a parking space nearer to where I was headed when I suddenly lost my footing and had a nasty fall to the ground.
With some effort, I eventually managed to get back onto my feet and saw that I had stepped into an uncovered manhole in the middle of the pavement.
There was nothing to warn me of the impending danger, and furthermore the hole was obscured by shadows cast by the large tree overhead.
On closer inspection, the manhole was filled with litter and other debris, so it had clearly been uncovered for some time.
I called my wife who was fortunately also on her way to visit our son. She drove me to the emergency department where I spent a few hours being x-rayed and treated, and paid a hefty bill at the end of it all.
I bruised my shoulder, which is still in a sling, tore the nail off my big toe and grazed my legs and arms in the fall.
To add insult to injury, not one person stopped to assist me, which I find very sad.
I was fortunate that the manhole was not deep enough to have caused more serious injury. I immediately contacted the JRA to notify them, and to express my concern that there was no warning or protection of this hazard.
I have visited the hospital a number of times since my fall and the manhole remains uncovered.
I hope that this letter serves to get the attention of the JRA so that this unprotected manhole, and others like it, can be made safe and further injuries avoided. I trust this letter will be published so that others can be aware of the dangers these open manholes pose.
Editor’s note: Letter published unedited.
