May 2024 - Parks & Recreation - 29

she came to an abrupt stop and blacked out. Once she
regained consciousness, she found herself sitting upright
on the rocks in the water waist deep and her knee
was completely " busted open. " She recalled someone
calling an ambulance and that three gentlemen pulled
her out of the water.
Robert Bias-Ortiz was jogging on the promenade
on the day of the incident and was called as a witness
at trial. While he was on his jog, he learned from
two individuals sitting on a bench ahead of him that
Wallace had fallen into the Harbor. Bias-Ortiz went
to the edge of the promenade and saw Wallace in the
Harbor. He instructed individuals to help Wallace out
of the water. He called 911 and requested emergency
medical services.
Bias-Ortiz testified that after Wallace was pulled
out of the water, she was unresponsive to the things
being said to her, and that there was a gash in one of
her knees and bruising all over her body. She eventually
was taken to the hospital by ambulance. BiasOrtiz
described a gap on the promenade as two inches
wide and deep enough that he recalled not being
able to see the bottom.
On August 28, 2019, Wallace filed a lawsuit alleging
" the City breached its duties to her by negligently causing,
allowing to remain, and failing to warn her of a
dangerous and defective condition on the premises, of
which the City had actual and/or constructive knowledge. "
In particular, Wallace alleged " a gap between
the bulkhead and the brick pavers of the Inner Harbor
near the Rusty Scupper [restaurant] caused her to fall
from her bike and suffer injury. "
The maintenance of this City-owned location is the
responsibility of the City's Department of Transportation.
During a May 2012 inspection, an engineering
firm hired by the City had found " gaps between the
granite blocks of the bulkhead and brick pavers along
the Promenade where Wallace alleges, she was caused
to fall. " In July 2013, the engineering firm had " recommended
maintenance and repairs of these expansion
joints between the bulkhead and the brick pavers. " In
December 2017, the City Department of Transportation
representative performed a visual inspection of the
location and photographed a two-inch-wide and eightinch-deep
gap between the bulkhead and the pavers
that Wallace alleged caused her injury.
In response to Plaintiff's
lawsuit, the Defendant
City of Baltimore stated: " the Waterfront Promenade
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | MAY 2 0 2 4 | Parks & Recreation
29
where the incident occurred is located in Inner Harbor
Park and that it is an official public park established by
the City's Charter. " At the time of her injury, the City
claimed Wallace was using " the Waterfront Promenade
or Inner Harbor Park for any recreational purpose; and
therefore, no duty was owed " under the Maryland Recreational
Use Statute (MRUS).
Maryland Recreational
Use Statute
The MRUS, in pertinent part, provides: " an owner of
land owes no duty of care to keep the premises safe for
entry or use by others for any recreational or educational
purpose, or to give any warning of a dangerous
condition, use, structure, or activity on the premises to
any person who enters on the land for these purposes. "
Md. Code Ann., Nat. Res. § 5-1103.
The stated purpose of the MRUS " is to encourage
any owner of land to make land, water, and airspace
above the land and water areas available to the public
for any recreational and educational purpose...
http://rmsunscreen.com
May 2024 - Parks & Recreation

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