I SWEAR THIS IS NOT A TROLL POST.
Location: Oklahoma
I’m staying at an RV park. I got trapped in the bathroom. The door opens outward and has weird hinges that nobody outside could unpin. They called the owner and the maintenance guy but neither would answer their phones.
Someone outside tried to knock the handle off but it wouldn’t work.
The AC was not working and it was over 100° inside.
In the end I had to kick the door out, completely destroying it. Obviously the owner has my info. Will I be responsible for replacing the door? Should I be worried about getting sued?
Any steps I should take right now are appreciated.
Comments
I can’t tell you how the owners will respond, but as long as you were in there legally you’ll be fine.
I’d suggest recording a video statement from the person who tried to get you out but could not.
Followed by being ready or preemptively accusing the owner of negligence, wreckless endangerment and mental anguish.
He could potentially sue you for the damage to the door. If so, you would present your defense that it was an emergency and you were in fear for your safety, and you only resorted to damaging the door when other reasonable avenues for egress failed.
You could even counter-sue him for damages and distress incurred as a result of his improperly installed or malfunctioning bathroom door.
There’s no telling how any of that would go though. The easiest thing for him to do would be to go through his insurance to get the door fixed.
You’re just the gun way too early. This isn’t the end of the world.
Just talk to the owner to work this out as this is a civil matter.
The owner has your info (as a customer at a particular site) or he has your info as the person who kicked-down the bathroom door?
Don’t bring this up. If they start asking who did it, don’t lie but also don’t volunteer that you did it. Just avoid saying anything if you can.
If they know you did it, tell them their poorly-maintained door jammed, you couldn’t get out on your own, and bystanders also weren’t able to get it open. If they press you for damages, tell them you don’t feel it’s your responsibility and you feel they should be the ones paying you for trapping you.
Don’t even start worrying about lawsuits until it gets closer to that point, but if you can, definitely try to get the name of the bystanders who knew you were trapped and attempted to help free you, just in case.
Next time call the local fire department. They will help anyone who is trapped and you don’t have to worry about being sued.
Chances are low that the owner sues you. They may threaten to sue you, but it’s unlikely they will. They might try and charge your card if they have it on file. You can dispute, but if you lose the dispute, you would have to sue for your money back.
Your defense to a lawsuit would be their negligent maintenance led to your being locked in. No telling how it would play out.