Lethbridge’s Elvis Lyon says he plans on suing the city after it denied responsibility for damage caused to his vehicle by a faulty manhole cover along Stafford Drive.
When the manhole cover flew off and hit the undercarriage of Lyon’s truck before landing in the roadway, the safety of other road users was the first thing that came to his mind.
“I have emergency lights on my work truck,” Lyon said. “I turned those on and moved the manhole cover out of the way so other vehicles wouldn’t hit it.”
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Lyon says he called the city and crews arrived promptly but were unable to get the cover back on the manhole. The next day, the cover had been replaced and the road repaved.
Meanwhile, Lyon took his vehicle to a mechanic to have the damage assessed.
“It cost $311 to do a slight adjustment on my alignment, and get my wheels rebalanced,” he said.
Lyon submitted a claim to the city for reimbursement and says because there had been no previous complaints of negligence with the manhole in question, his claim was denied.
“(The City of Lethbridge) said they go under a government act, and that’s what they’re hiding behind,” Lyon said.
Lyon plans to take legal action against the city, with hopes of safer roadways and infrastructure for Lethbridge residents.
“It’s more the principle,” Lyon said. “When is the city going to start taking responsibility?”
The City of Lethbridge was unable to comment on its process for decision-making for claims pertaining to local infrastructure at the time of this article’s publishing.