California man scared by bear in dumpster trips and falls; now he's suing the Nevada condominium
A fall that left a California man injured after being startled by a bear in a dumpster has led him to sue.
John Donaldson was a tourist at a condominium in Incline Village in Nevada on Sept. 5, 2019, when he was walking with his dog to go throw away a doggy bag, according to court documents.
After he struggled to open the garbage latch, he was surprised to find a bear inside. He tried to run but tripped, twisted his ankle and landed on his back.
The bear wandered around for several minutes before disappearing into the woods behind the Incline Crest Condominiums.
Donaldson needed surgery for a full-thickness tear to his Achilles tendon and a spinal cord compression caused by the fall, according to the documents.
Donaldson is now suing the condominium and Nevada's waste management for the "defective and malfunction dumpster."
"It was discovered that the left dumpster door would not shut automatically as it was designed to do. One had to purposely slam the door shut. The right dumpster door was completely frozen shut," court documents said.
The lawsuit says the condominium knew for months about the defective latch on the dumpster, and because of the bear problem in the area, it was required to have a functioning park-style, wildlife-resistant dumpster.
Donaldson seeks more than $15,000 in damages.
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Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: agilbert@usatoday.com.