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Claim by Joan SandersTHE CTTY OF DUB E MEMORANDUM Masterpiece on the Mississippi BARRY LINDAHL CITY ATTORNEY To: Mayor Roy D. Buol and Members of the City Council DATE RE: Claimant August 14, 2007 Claim against the City of Dubuque by Joan Sanders Date of Claim Joan Sanders 08/07/07 Date of Loss 06/12/07 Nature of Claim Personal Injury This is a claim in which the claimant alleges that as she was walking in front of 129 Main Street, she tripped on an unmarked ramp which extends approximately 60 inches into the sidewalk. This claim has been referred to Public Entity Risk Services of Iowa, the agent for the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool. BAL:tIs cc: ~llichael C. Van Milligen, City Manager Jeanne Schneider, City Clerk Gus Psihoyos, City Engineer Joan Sanders OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY DUBUQUE, IOWA SUITE 330, HARBOR VIEW PLACE, 300 MAIN STREET DUBUQUE, IA 52001-6944 TELEPHONE (563) 583-4113 ! FAx (563) 583-1040 / EMAIL balesq@cityofdubuque.org C'.aim Form http://www.cityofdubuque. org/printer_friendly.cfm?PageID= I55 /~l/,~i' CLAtM AGAINST THE CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA ~ ~~y ~ )~ This written report constitutes your claim against the City of Dubuque, Iowa. You should complete this form in ~ /~ ~ full and attach any additional information that supports your claim. ~ - The claim must be filed with the City Clerk at City Hall, 50 West 13th St., Dubuque, IA 52001. It will then be / referred to the appropriate department for investigation and to the City Attorney's Office. Once that investigation is completed, a report and recommendation will be submitted to the City Council. You will be provided with a copy of that report and recommendation. The final decision on all claims is made by the City Council. No employee of the City of Dubuque has the authority to make any representation to you as to whether your claim will or will not be paid. 1. Name of Claimant: Joan Sanders 2. Address: 171 Montgomery, East Dubuque, IL 61025 3. Telephone Number: 4. Date of Incident: 563-663-3410 June 12, 2007 5. Time of Incident: approximately 6:15 a.m. 6. Location of Incident (Be specific): Sidewalk in front of 129 S. Main St., Dubuque, Iowa 7. Describe the accident or occurrence that caused injury or damage. (Give full details upon which you base your claim. If a City employee was involved, give the employee's name.) See Attached 8. What were weather conditions like? Clear and Calm 9. Give name and address of any witnesses: Mary Imbus, 1001 Maquoketa Dr. , Dubuque, Iowa 52003 10. Did police investigate? (If so, give names of officers.) Yes, Officer Matt Walker 11. Was anyone injured? (If so, give names, addresses, and extent of injuries.) Yes, See Attached 12. Was any damage done to property? (If so, describe property and the extent of damages. Attach estimates of damages or describe basis for ascertaining extent of damage.) 13. What other damages do you claim, if any? Undetermined at this time, but includes medical expenses and pain and suffering of 2 7/30/2007 1:34 PM Claim Form . http://www.cityofdubuque.org/printer_friendly.cfm?PageID-155 14. Have you been compensated for any part or all of your claim by any insurance company? (If so, give name and address of insurance company and amount paid.) Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Medicare are both covering medical expenses 15. What amount do you claim from the City of Dubuque? approximately $50, 000 (undetermined at this time -Claimant is still treating) 16. Why do you claim the City of Dubuque is responsible Failure to properly mark and warn of newly installed ramp on sidewalk in front of 129 Main St. 17. Have you made any claim against anyone else for damages as a result of this incident? (If yes, give name and address.) No 18. If the answer to Question 17 is yes, have you received any payment from that source, and if so, in what amount? Not Applicable Dated this ~_ day of ~L~ 20~ ~. (Signature) .10~~. r-~., ~Q ~ a~~~ s (Print Name) print this page Prepared by: Les M. Blair III, Blair & Fitzsimmons, P.C., 850 White St., Dubuque, Iowa (563) 588-1970 ~I '~~'Li';~nQ d:~}~~C? s,~~ aG !~ ~~i~ 6h :E Wd L- ~fl~ LO CJ~i11~~~d f2 7/30/2007 1:34 PM ATTACHMENT Attachment to Question 7: Injuries include a broken right elbow. Badly bruised knees, palms of hands, chest and chin. Stiff neck and head ache appeared within a day. Right thumb appeared to have been extended back and remains very sore at this writing (6-20-2007). Right arm midway between wrist and elbow is very tender and was looked at by Dr. Pearson on 6-18-2007, who stated the x- rays taken at the emergency room did not cover that section of the arm and he felt that this was possibly a sprain. Attachment to Question 11: On Tuesday morning at 6:00 a.m. I met my friend at the parking lot of the Diamond Jo to walk the river walk as we do every morning and evening. The fish flies were very heavy so we decided to walk to the Main street area via the 3`d street bridge to South Main. At 3`d and South Main we proceeded south on the east side of Main to the end of Main and proceeded back up the west side of Main heading north. At 129 Main (Knipples Religious Gifts) an unmarked ramp in front of the store extends into the sidewalk 60 inches. The south side of the ramp is 4 '/2 inches higher than the level of the sidewalk. When walking in front of this store I stumbled on the ramp and I fell face first on the sidewalk. My friend Mary, who was walking on the right hand side of me (curb side) bent over me and asked if I was hurt. I got up and together we walked back to our vehicles. I told Mary I would drive myself to Finley Hospital emergency to get x-rays. After leaving the parking lot I drove south on Main to view the accident site and noted 4 additional ramps on the west side of Main which were marked and these ramps were much higher and much more visible. On the east side of Main there were two ramps both unmarked. When at the emergency room the nurse called the Dubuque City Police since the accident happened on the city street. Two officers met with me. After learning of the site of the accident one officer left and the second officer wrote up a report. The officer asked me to sign the report of which he read to me I signed the report without reading the same. After leaving the emergency room I again drove South Main Street to view the accident site and noted warning signs in place. (Signs are approximately 2 foot by 1 foot with a heavy base approximately 2 foot by 1 foot). All 5 ramps on the west side of the street were now marked. The ramps on the east side were still unmarked.