Taiwan woman sprains ankle at pothole, wins compensation

TAIPEI - A Taiwan woman has been awarded 81,000 Taiwan dollars (about $2,500) in compensation for injury caused by a pothole in front of the presidential office in Taipei, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Hu Chin-chuan, a Bank of Taiwan clerk, was walking to work April 29, 2008, when she stepped into a 10-by-10-centimetre pothole on Chunking South Road, about 100 metres from the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, the Liberty Times said.

She sprained her right ankle and was treated at hospital. More than a year and a half later, she still limps and wears braces around her right ankle, said the paper.

After the incident, Hu asked the Taipei city government to repair the pothole and reimburse her medical and taxi bills totalling 530,000 Taiwan dollars ($160,000).

The city said that Hsu was partially responsible for her injury because she was careless and agreed to pay her only 10,000 Taiwan dollars ($300).

She filed a suit with the Taipei District Court, which awarded her 81,000 Taiwan dollars for psychological compensation and partial medical bills. Hu remains unsatisfied.

“The presidential office is the gate of the country. It is unbelievable that the road there is so poorly maintained,” she told the Liberty Times.

“I have limped for one year and a half. I am a single mother. I must support two children and a mother, but this injury has affected my work.”

The city has launched the Smooth Road Project to fix potholes but each month continues to receive more than 1,000 pothole complaints.