Gig Harbor woman sues city, HOA after she fell 14 feet through a rotting fence
A 73-year-old Gig Harbor woman is suing the city and her homeowners’ association, alleging that she was seriously injured when a dilapidated fence near her home gave way and she fell 14 feet onto a sidewalk below.
Patricia Sheetz filed the lawsuit against the city and the Harbor Crossing Homeowners Association on Jan. 25 in Pierce County Superior Court.
“Our client was seriously injured as a result of this incident, and many of her injuries appear to be permanent in nature,” one of her attorneys, Nathan Roberts, said in a statement.
Sheetz hopes the case “will cause the city and the HOA to pay more attention to safety,” Roberts said. “Our client has been through a lot, and she hopes that changes will be made before anyone else gets killed or seriously injured.”
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, gives this account:
Scheetz was walking in a greenbelt by her Baltic Street home June 28, which she thought the HOA owned and maintained. Baltic Street is just behind the Target/Albertsons shopping center on Borgen Boulevard.
“There were no signs, and there was no other way for Ms. Scheetz to know, that Defendant HCHOA did not, in fact, own the greenbelt area,” the complaint said. “There were no signs or other demarcations indicating the existence of any property line or indicating that the area into which Ms. Scheetz was proceeding was unmaintained, ‘off limits,’ or in any way hazardous.”
There was a split-rail wood fence along the greenbelt with a 14-foot drop below. When she stumbled on uneven ground and fell into the fence, it “disintegrated upon contact because it was not to code, had not been maintained, and was in terrible disrepair,” the lawsuit said.
Posts were rotted where they met the ground.
Scheetz landed on the sidewalk below, fracturing her spine and her pelvis in multiple places.
The lawsuit argues that the city owns the land, and “had a duty to maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition.”
The HOA also had a duty to do that, the lawsuit argues, because it “asserted control of the land in question ... .”
Bob Larson, city administrator for Gig Harbor, confirmed the city “received the lawsuit and referred it to legal counsel” though said they “will not comment on pending litigation.” Request for comment from the city’s counsel also was declined.
Multiple attempts to reach lawyers for the HOA via email and phone went unanswered.
Reach Alexis Krell at akrell@thenewstribune.com
Reach Chase Hutchinson at chutchinson@thenewstribune.com
