Woman Sues PUB for $5 Million After Falling into an Open Manhole at Upper Serangoon Road

Have you ever wondered why manholes are called manholes?

It’s not because those who came up with the name were 13-year-old boys who enjoyed innuendos a little too much.

Rather, the name was derived based on how the hole was used – by men who entered the hole to locate the tunnelled area beneath the ground.

Over time, the term has become controversial, and some use access chamber or maintenance hole instead.

In any case, falling into an open manhole is something that you usually only see in cartoons.

A certain hunter will leave an open manhole in the path of an unsuspecting grey bunny, and the bunny will end up falling into nothingness.

However, as horrifying as it sounds, these incidents have actually occurred in real life, as one irate woman can attest to.

Woman Sues PUB for $5 Million After Falling into an Open Manhole at Upper Serangoon Road

A woman has taken PUB to court to sue for damages of $5 million after she fell into an open manhole on a pedestrian path five years ago.

According to CNA, the incident occurred on 1 Dec 2015.

Chan Hui Peng was walking along Simon Road at 10.30am when she fell 2m into an open manhole at an intersection with Upper Serangoon Road.

The fall left her with multiple injuries, including a fractured ankle, multiple bruises, spinal disc bulges, and abrasions in 11 areas of her body.

Consequently, the 47-year-old cannot run and suffers an altered gait. She also has scars over her limbs and lower back pain from time to time.

She will experience neck pain if she sits for more than an hour, and cannot use her right hand in certain activities due to nerve damage.

The incident has affected her mental health as well.

In her affidavit, Chan said she suffers from post-traumatic headaches and now has anxiety and panic attacks.

In addition, she also claimed to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, and schizophrenia.

She now has a fear of walking into holes and has even had nightmares about it. Finding a job has also been a tough task, as she has needed to take medical leave often.

PUB, however, believes Chan is not being entirely truthful.

PUB: Plaintiff “Dishonest in Formulating Her Claim”

PUB’s defence argued that Chan was using her phone and claimed there were three PUB officers inspecting the open manhole in question.

“As she approached the open manhole, she saw the three officers and attempted to barge through the same instead of walking around them and the open manhole, resulting in her fall into the manhole,” PUB’s lawyers said.

PUB lawyers denied that Chan’s accident led to the diagnosis of various alleged injuries, as well as the extent of her residual disabilities.

They believe the 47-year-old “has been dishonest in formulating her claim”.

Chan: No Warning Notices or Barricades Present

Chan, however, presented a very different tale.

She denies PUB’s claim that she barged through the three officers, saying she wasn’t using her phone and was fully aware of where she was going.

However, the three PUB officers were clad in civilian attire and were not in safety gear, nor were there any warning notices or barricades present.

Chan said the manhole was “enveloped in a shadow created by the overcast tree foliage”, and that she only saw “a big patch of dark shadows” in the area.

As a result, she didn’t see or expect the manhole to be open.

Moreover, when she was approaching the manhole, the officers failed to warn her of the impending danger, according to Chan, as they continued their conversation.

“Just as my outstretched arm was about to make contact with the PUB officers, I suddenly found myself falling and plunging straight down,” she said.

“My outstretched arm hit the pavement and I instinctively clung onto the ground in front of the manhole with both arms and hands.”

Chan fell into the hole and landed on her buttocks, and felt sharp pains in several parts of her body, including her spine.

PUB Accepted 70% Liability

Chan’s lawyers claim PUB has accepted 70% liability for the accident, but the utilities board disputes some of the physical injuries, medical expenses, as well as costs for future treatment.

PUB’s lawyers claim Chan has made a “mountain out of a molehill and has seized the opportunity to capitalise on the injuries she allegedly sustained because of the accident.”

A figure of $20 million was initially listed in court documents, according to CNA.

This figure was later reduced to $5 million, which included damages for:

• suffering as a result of her injuries
• cost of future medical expenses
• loss of opportunity to have a child
• loss of earning capacity
• prospective costs of a caregiver

This will be the first time that a court has to decide if a diagnosis of schizophrenia can be attributed to an accident, as Chan alleged.

The trial is set to continue.

Featured Image: Radovan1 / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purpose only)