An 82-year-old man is suing Columbia after he allegedly broke his ankle by stepping into a grass-covered pothole on a city street.
Marcell Foxworth, 56 Less Hammond Road, Tylertown, is seeking $50,000, according to court documents. He filed the lawsuit Oct. 15 in Marion County Circuit Court.
According to the lawsuit, Foxworth took his car for servicing to Columbia Auto Service on May 4, 2018. While waiting on his car, he walked up the street to a Shell station, the lawsuit said.
When returning, he stepped off the sidewalk at the corner of Pearl Street and South High School Avenue to cross the street and stepped directly into a pothole covered by grass, according to the suit. It said he was unable to see the pothole because of tall, thick grass covering it and that there were no barricades or caution signs. He landed on his bottom in the hole, and two women helped him get out, the suit states.
“The pothole was so deep and had been there for some time as the grass was knee deep. The whole (sic) had been there for such a length of time growing tall grass that the City knew or should have known of its existence,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said city workers removed the grass and filled the pothole shortly after the incident.
Court documents said his ankle was broken in three places and that he also “suffered trauma to his testicles.” The suit said he was confined to a wheelchair for a time and now walks with a slight limp.
Foxworth is represented by Shunda Baldwin of Jackson.
The city has not yet filed its response to the lawsuit.
