A grandad claims he smashed his face and broke his spine after tripping on a pothole that neighbours claim they had reported to council years before.
Darren Lucas was returning to his home in Abergavenny, Wales, when he says he tripped over a 10ft-long pothole in the lane outside his house and smashed his head on the concrete.
The grandad-of-four was left with a giant lump on his head, a bloodied face and a cut on his leg, so went to A&E where he said he was given painkillers and sent home – leaving his spinal injury undiscovered for a year.
Despite repeat visits to doctors and hospitals as he began to lose sensation in his arms and legs, it was not until Darren collapsed a year on from the accident in March 2022 that an MRI finally revealed his spine was broken in three places.
The 57-year-old endured a grueling emergency op to insert six or seven metal plates into his spine, 11 days in ICU recovering and had to painfully relearn to walk again using a zimmer frame.
However he says he has been left in struggling to walk due to being in immense amounts of pain and nerve – leaving him fearing further falls.
One of Darren’s neighbours claims to have reported the pothole to Monmouthshire County Council around six years ago but says nothing was done.
Darren said: ‘It’s ruined my life and nobody’s taking the blame. It’s terrible that they won’t accept any responsibility for it. If I’d just banged my head and I’d just fell it wouldn’t be so bad but because of the injuries I’ve got and they’re life changing injuries, it’s just not fair.
‘It’s a terrible thing to go through. It’s just wrong. The injuries just got worse and worse. My body just gave up in the end.
‘I was suffering, I couldn’t get off the sofa, I couldn’t even dress myself.. I became incontinent, I had to wear nappies and it got worse. Even the slightest movement I was screaming in agony, it was that bad. I didn’t understand what was going on.
‘It just became unbearable. I couldn’t even walk, I couldn’t get to the car.. In the end I collapsed at home. I couldn’t even lift myself up because my arms were gone, my legs were gone. It was the worst feeling ever.’
Darren said doctors told him he could have been paralysed ‘for life’ after the ‘frightening’ incident.
He added: ‘I just wish the council would take responsibility for what has happened. It’s like I’ve been chucked on the scrapheap, that’s how I feel. My wife has to got to do everything for me. I can’t even dress myself. It’s embarrassing and it’s not fair on me.’
Although Darren remains in a lot of pain, he goes to physio every two weeks and can get around using a walking stick.
Darren said he reported the pothole to the housing association after the fall because they own the house he lives in and he believed they owned the road with the pothole.
But after instructing a solicitor to represent him over the incident, Darren found out that the road is owned by Monmouthshire County Council.
He said the council told his solicitors that the road is checked every six months, but Darren said the pothole was never maintained during the five years he has lived in the property.
Monmouthshire County Council told Metro: ‘The area where Mr Lucas claims to have fallen is unadopted and may have been repaired by an individual or resident association.’
Darren says it was only after being contacted by his solicitor that the council filled in the pothole with concrete, but claims that the council will not take responsibility for the life-changing injuries he suffered.
Now he plans to move house because of the bad memories he associates with it.
Darren said: ‘I could fall at anytime. I’ve got a trapped nerve in my leg from these injuries and now I could be walking around the house and my leg could just give way so I’ve got to use a stick to keep me upright.
‘It could happen at any time though, it’s permanent damage. I’m stuck in limbo basically, it’s terrible really. I’ve got nerve damage all over my body. I do have feeling in my legs and my arms. I’m happy with what I’ve got at the moment because I had nothing but I’m still in a lot of pain.’
Darren said he still has issues moving his neck. He ‘doesn’t understand’ why the council didn’t notice the gaping pothole.
‘I’m not going to let them get away with it. I’m going to fight them all the way,’ he said.
One of Darren’s neighbours claims she reported the pothole to the council around six years ago but no action was taken.
The neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘I’ve been here 11 years and it’s never been maintained since I’ve been here.
‘I’ve complained a number of times, including reporting the pothole to the council around six years ago. They are a joke.’
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