Hermann Park is located on 445 acres within the city of Houston. It includes the Houston Zoo, the Miller Outdoor Theater, McGovern Lake, Centennial Gardens, and the Hermann Park Railroad, among other attractions. With all of this potential fun, there is still a dark side–the potential for injury and perhaps even death. If you suffer an injury in Hermann Park, you’re going to need to know how to handle things.
Ownership of Hermann Park
Hermann Park is a public park that is owned by the Houston Parks and Recreation Department. The Hermann Park Conservancy, a private nonprofit organization, helps to manage the park.
Since the city government owns Hermann Park, the restrictions of the Texas Tort Claim Act (TTCA) apply to personal injury lawsuits against Hermann Park itself. More specifically, as the injured party:
- You must file a Notice of Claim with the appropriate government department–in this case, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department. You must include the date, time, location, and a detailed description of the accident and injuries. The filing deadline is 90 days after your accident. Other government departments apply different deadlines, but they are always short.
- You must comply with the following damages caps: $250,000 per person for bodily injury or death; $500,000 per accident for bodily injury or death; and $100,000 per accident for property damage.
- You must file a lawsuit within the appropriate statute of limitations deadline (typically within two years after the accident).
Certain other restrictions, such as waivers of liability, may apply as well, depending on the specific facts of your case.
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Common Accidents in Hermann Park
Following is a list of common park accidents. Some of these injuries are particularly likely to happen in Hermann Park due to the nature of the specific recreational facilities located there.
- Bicycle/pedestrian collisions: Metal is hard, people are soft (even their bones). Naturally, pedestrian/bicycle collisions can result in various injuries.
- Dog bites or animal attacks: A dog attack might be the owner’s fault, while a wild animal attack is more likely to be the park’s fault. .
- Dehydration, heat exhaustion, etc.
- Insect bites and stings: These could lead to a life-threatening allergic reaction in some people.
- Vehicle accidents: Collisions involving park maintenance vehicles or golf carts can injure or even kill.
- Playground equipment injuries: Defective or poorly maintained playground equipment can cause slip and fall accidents, cuts, bones fractures, etc, Manufacturing defects in playground equipment.
- Slip and fall injuries: Uneven walkways and wet surfaces are the main culprits here.
- Water-related accidents: Slip and fall accidents or even drownings can occur during aquatic activities such as boating.
It might not surprise you to learn that a full list of possible accidents would be too long to fit in this post.
Premises Liability and How It Works
A glance at the foregoing list should make it obvious that most (but not all) accidents in Hermann Park arise from dangerous conditions on the premises. The owners and operators of premises can bear liability to injured guests for dangerous conditions on the premises. To prevent liability, they must repair or warn about obvious dangers. They must also periodically inspect the property for non-obvious dangers.
If you can identify a dangerous condition on park property, such as a structural failure, you might assert that the park was responsible for allowing dangerous conditions to persist without warning or remedy. Furthermore, not all valid claims involve premises liability. You might sue the manufacturer of defective park equipment, for example, or sue a park guest for a dog bite.
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Hire a Houston Personal Injury Lawyer
There is the old saying, “Don’t let the glue of circumstance harden beneath your feet.” Nowhere is this saying more accurate than in the context of a personal injury claim. The longer you wait to press your claim, the weaker it will become. The team at Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers knows how to handle government defendants and is fiercely committed to protecting the interests of our clients. Contact the firm today to schedule a free consultation with a Houston personal injury lawyer.
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Contact a Houston Personal Injury Lawyer to Help You With Your Claim
For more information, contact the Houston personal injury law firm of Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers by calling (713) 500-5000.
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