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Man Who Fell Through Sidewalk Sinkhole Into Pit Of Rats Files Lawsuit
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Dec 1, 2020
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Dec 1, 2020
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Leonard Shoulders, the Bronx man whose plunge through a sidewalk sinkhole into a den of agitated rats rendered our own list of NYC nightmares obsolete, has filed a lawsuit against the city and the building's owner, alleging (gross) negligence.
The 33-year-old survivor was waiting for a bus at East 183rd Street near Third Avenue in late October when the ground beneath him suddenly collapsed. Shoulders was then swallowed whole by the sidewalk abyss, plummeting at least 12 feet into a dark and narrow vault filled with rats, according to the suit. Somehow, it gets worse.
"These rats were crawling all over him and he was fearful of screaming out because he didn’t want them to go in his mouth or further agitate them," Nicolas Bagley, the attorney for Shoulders, told Gothamist.
Security camera footage obtained by NBC and other outlets shows nearby pedestrians leaning over the gaping chasm to assess Shoulders's condition. The FDNY managed to pull him out after 30 minutes.
Shoulders fractured his spine and was paralyzed in the fall, according to his attorney. He is currently living at a rehabilitation facility, recovering from spinal surgery after spending three weeks at Saint Barnabas Hospital. He is slowly regaining feeling in his legs and hands, but still has difficulty walking, the attorney said. "We're not sure if he's going to ever regain full function."
A lawsuit filed in Bronx Supreme Court on Monday alleges that the building's owner — listed as EH &HD 183rd Realty LLC — was "careless, reckless and negligent" in their maintenance of the property and its subterranean vault. The city is also accused of failing to properly inspect the sidewalk.
Bagley said that they have been unable to locate the actual owner of the building. The total amount of damages sought by Shoulders will be determined by the extent of his permanent injuries and psychological trauma, according to his attorney.
A spokesperson for the City Law Department did not respond to Gothamist's inquiries.
The suit comes almost one year to the day since a Manhattan handyman sued his employer for allowing a ceiling full of rats to collapse on his head, raising an interesting philosophical question about the relative merits of falling into a nest of rats compared to having a nest of rats fall onto you, which we will leave you to ponder in the comments below.
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Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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