She was just there to attend a rummage sale. On July 2, 2005, Violet Seabolt was making her way up a wooden public access ramp to enter the Scottsville Community Center in Dorrier Park. At the top of the ramp was where $300,000 worth of disaster struck—Seabolt’s foot caught on nails that had worked out of the ramp, and she fell down the steps next to the ramp, breaking her left wrist, right thumb and nose.
 Violet Seabolt lays $300,000 worth of blame at the feet of the county for injuries she suffered from a fall on this ramp at the Scottsville Community Center. |
That’s at least how the story goes in Seabolt’s lawsuit, filed in the Albemarle County Circuit Court. She’s suing the county to the tune of $300K for gross negligence. “Based upon months of neglect allowing multiple nails to remain higher than the level of the ramp and landing and failure to make any necessary repairs after a previous injury of similar cause had occurred, the level of negligence exercised by the County of Albemarle far exceeds ordinary negligence,” says the complaint, composed by James Feinman, a Lynchburg attorney who didn’t return calls for comment.
The county doesn’t want to take the rap. In addition to disputing the charge, it’s invoked a little something called “sovereign immunity,” a fancy way of saying that, as the government, you can’t sue it unless it does something really bad.
The case is still active, but the ball is back in Seabolt’s court to decide whether to pursue the suit.
As for those pesky nails? Any that had worked out of the floor of the ramp have been smashed back in place, though on the guide rail is still a snagger or two. And even if one were to fall on the ramp now, the original steps have been fenced off to prevent any more tumbles.
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