Briton considers legal action over manhole

Mr Malcolm Davies from Son Caliu has a broken foot. He can't walk, drive or work - all due to a manhole cover on the Carrer de Roses Bermejo near Palma Nova. Building and roadworks have been in operation along the Palma Nova roads for a long time. Mr Davies believes that the Carrer de Roses Bermejo maintenance was finished almost a year ago but claims that the workmen did a bad job which caused him injury. “I was walking from the roundabout towards Palma Nova with my wife and daughter” said Mr Davies yesterday. “They were walking in front of me and stepped into the road outside the Hotel Gabarda. I stepped off the kerb behind them into a sunken manhole which was 3 inches below the surface of the road. I heard my foot go crack and collapsed onto the road.” Mr Davies reports that it was 11.30 at night and although there were streetlights all around the area, none of them were turned on. “In the hospital they x-rayed my foot and discovered that I had broken a small bone. They plastered my leg up to the knee but wouldn't give me crutches or a wheelchair.” After enquiring about the manhole cover, Mr Davies was told that the police had been informed on numerous occasions about the fault and its potential danger to pedestrians and motorists. The police are believed to have visited the site but no action has been taken. Mr Davis said “It is a job which has been finished recently but it looks like a bad job. All the stones around the outside of the cover have sunken into the dip with the manhole lid.” Mr Davies is concerned that he cannot work and the expenses of his injury are proving to be very high. “I have to hire an automatic car for a month, pay for my own orthopaedic care and all the other expenses which are incurred by my injury. It's adding up to a lot”. Having already telephoned the British Consul on the island, Mr Davies is now poised for a list of recommended laywers to be sent to him, so he can delve deeper into the manhole mystery and find out who is to blame for the accident which put him out of action.