DANGEROUS CONDITION
Electric company not liable for woman’s fall in street
On Nov. 16, 2011, a jury declined to award damages to a woman who blamed a small manhole for her fall. Esther M. Stubbs was walking in Houston when she allegedly fell because of a streetlight pullhole, which is a small hole covered by a lid. Stubbs claimed that she stepped on the pullhole lid and that it flipped open, causing her to fall forward. She said the lid was defective. CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric said it had no knowledge of and no reason to know of any problem with the pullhole lid. The defense also questioned whether Stubbs’ fall happened at the pullhole location or somewhere else.
