A local man is suing the town in seeking money damages for injuries he received in a trip-and-fall accident that occurred in August 2011, at the town waste transfer station off Ethan Allen Road.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of money damages exceeding $15,000. The town has an October 1 return date in the case in Danbury Superior Court.

In the legal action, resident George Phillips, 79, of 11 Lantern Drive, explains that on August 27, 2011, he went to the waste transfer station to dispose of his household garbage from his garbage cans.

According to the legal papers, when Mr Phillips was at the transfer station, the area near a large garbage container, where people drop off their garbage, was “in unreasonably dangerous and defective condition.”

That area was strewn with garbage and had obstructions on the ground, cracked and defective pavement, gaps between the pavement and the large garbage container, a broken chain lying low to the ground, and a lack of signage or warning, all of which combined to form a trip-and-fall hazard at the point where people drop their garbage into the large garbage container, according to the lawsuit.

While being cautious, Mr Phillips approached the large garbage container and attempted to unload his garbage cans, but suddenly he tripped over the low-hanging chain and he fell down next to the large container, becoming injured, according to the lawsuit.

Carelessness and negligence by the town resulted in conditions that posed a trip-and-fall hazard in that area, the legal papers state.

As a result of the fall, Mr Phillips suffered physical problems, including hand/wrist injuries and knee injuries, according to the lawsuit.

Attorney Gregory Klein, representing Mr Phillips, said September 6 that his client was treated at Danbury Hospital following the accident and received orthopedic care for injuries.

Town Public Works Director Fred Hurley said of the lawsuit, “We have been continually upgrading our [protective] fencing to make it more accessible and safer for the public” to drop off garbage at the waste transfer station.

Such fencing provides a barrier to protect against people falling.