Claim Response Dahl, Kirk
BARRY A. LINDAHL, ESQ.
CORPORATION COUNSEL
MEMO
To:
Mayor Terrance M. Duggan
and members of the City Council
Date:
January 18, 2000
Re:
Claim of Kirk Dahl
Claimant
Date of Claim
Date of Loss
Kirk Dahl
12/29/99
12/22/99
Nature of Claim
vehicle damage
This is a claim for damages to the claimant's vehicle, which
it sustained when he swerved on the unplowed surface of the Fifth
Street Parking Ramp and hit a wall.
This claim has been referred to Public Entity Risk Services of
Iowa, the agent for the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool.
BAL/cg
cc - Ms. Cindy Steinhauser
cc - Mr. Kirk Dahl
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BARRY A. LINDAHL, iS~.
CORPORATION COUNSEL
MEMO
To:
Mayor Terrance M. Duggan
and members of the City Council
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Date:
January 25, .2000
Re:
Claim of Kirk Dahl
Claimant
Date of Claim
Date of Loss
Nature of Claim
Dahl, Kirk
1/13/00
12/22/99
reimbursement for
car insurance
deductible
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This is a claim for damage to the claimant's automobile, which
occurred on December 22, 1999 in the Fifth Street Parking Ram~.
The claimant previously submitted a claim for the full amount
of the damage to his car, which was referred to PERS. PERS
investigated the claim and denied it. The claimant then submitted
this claim for the $500 deductible, since his own insurer paid for
the remainder of the damage.
Enclosed is a copy of the report of Parking Systems Supervisor
Cindy Steinhauser. Ms. Steinhauser reports that City staff
followed the appropriate procedures for snow removal on the day of
this accident and that, in her opinion, the City was not at fault.
She has also submitted the Police Department report of Investi-
gating Officer Baker, who concluded that the cause of the accident
was the claimant driving too fast for existing conditions.
Ms. Steinhauser recommends that the claim be denied.
Legal Department concurs in that recommendation.
BAL/cg
cc - Ms. Cindy Steinhauser
cc - Mr. Kirk Dahl
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The
CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
MEMORANDUM
January 18, 2000
To: Carol A. Gulick, Legal Department
From: Cindy Steinhauser, Parking System supervisordUh
Re:
Claim of Kirk Dahl
Introduction
This memorandum is in response to the vehicular damage claim brought on by Mr. Kirk
Dahl.
Discussion
On December 22, 1999 Mr. Dahl came to the Parking Division Office to report an
accident which had just happened at the rooftop of the Fifth Street ramp. Mr. Dahl
indicated at that it was his preference to park on the rooftop of this facility and that he
had totaled his vehicle while attempting to do so on the above date. Office staff
proceeded to call the police department, which is protocol when there is an accident
claim. Mr. Dahl then went back down to the site of the incident and to meet with the
police officer. Upon notification of the situation, I proceeded to the Fifth Street ramp to
assess the situation. When I arrived, Ofcs. Baker and Smith were interviewing Mr. Dahl.
I participated in the conversation, asking Mr. Dahl what had happened. Mr. Dahl
explained that he was proceeding to the rooftop, traveling uphill, when his car slid in to
the side of the ramp. At that time, he expressed great concern over the condition of the
surface. I indicated to Mr. Dahl that staff had been called in at 5:00 a.m. and I was not
sure why the rooftop had not yet been cleared. I indicated that I would look into the
matter and wait for the officer's report regarding this incident.
My investigation into the matter indicated that city staff followed the appropriate
procedures for snow removal. Our policy is as follows: if overnight snow is forecasted, a
member of the maintenance staff is put on watch for weather conditions and has the
authority to call in the snow removal staff as soon as deemed necessary. When this
occurs, the parking ramps are plowed in the following order: I) Locust Street ramp, 2)
Iowa Street ramp and 3) Fifth Street ramp. In this case, on December 21, 1999 no
overnight snowfall was predicted and staff was not put on watch. However, at 4:00 a.m.
on December 22, 1999, maintenance staff noticed light snowfall had accumulated and
parking staff that typically reports for duty at 6:00 a.m. was called in for duty by 5:00
a.m. Their first priority was to address pedestrian walkways in the ramps and sidewalks
outside the ramp. By 7:00 a.m. it was determined that additional staff would be necessary
to plow portions of all three ramps and a call was made to the Park division. Our records
indicate that the Park division staff responded immediately to the request and arrived at
the Locust Street ramp at 7:26 a.m. that same day to begin plowing.
In addition, I received a supplemental report regarding this incident from Ofc. Baker, one
of the officers called to the scene of the accident. It was his professional opinion that
given the evidence, the accident was caused by excessive speed on the part of Mr. Dahl,
causing him to not make the turn safely. I would also note that additional vehicles had
successfully navigated the same area before and after Mr. Dahl's vehicle, under the same
conditions, however no other incidents were recorded that day.
Recommend
Based upon the above information I recommend that Mr. Dahl's claim be denied.
Attachment
cc:
Duane Pitcher, Finance Director
'DUBUQUE POLICE DEPT.
SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT
_Initial Report
Offense:
kl
CASE NO: 99-44049
_Additional Information
Victim:
Related Cases:
Page 10f!
On the 7th of January, 2000, 1 met with Parking Division Manager CINDY STEINHAUSER reference
an accident that had occurred in the parking ramp on 12/22/99 in which KIRK DAHL was involved.
Cindy asked if I remembered the accident. .I stated that I did. She asked if! had any opinions on what
would have caused the accident. I stated that in my opinion the accident was caused by excessive speed on the
part of Mr. DaJù. I explained to her that it was clear from my investigation that there had been several
vehicles that had made the turn in the same area that Mr. DaJù had and had no problem making the turn, both
before and after his accident, and that ftom the snow that was on the surface it was clear that his was the onJy
vehicle that had not made the turn safely. The reason that he would not have made the turn safely, in my
opinion, was that he was traveling too fast for the conditions of the parking ramp. I stated that had the
accident occurred after January 1,2000, Mr. DaJù would have been cited due to the department's decision to
investigate all accidents beginning January 1, 2000; and he would have been cited with Driving Too Fast For
Conditions if this accident would have happened on a city street.
Cc Cindy Steinhauser
coPY
_Prop/Veh RePort Filed
DATE: January 7,2000
Rpt. Off(s): Ed Baker
- Continued on SR
Current Status
Excp Clr
Bdg: 6
CO App:
Bdg: