On March 31, 2023, at 11:35 a.m., a resident of San Bartolomé de Tirajana suffered a spectacular fall on his motorcycle while crossing a roundabout irrigated, literally, by a broken urban irrigation system belonging to the UTE FCC y Otros. The incident, which at first glance might seem anecdotal, has resulted in a claim for property liability for €49.938,74 against the City Council, and in an administrative proceeding questioning the operation of the parks and gardens service.
According to the victim's account, recorded in the police report, his vehicle skidded sharply as he drove through a large accumulation of water on the road. The cause: a leak in the irrigation system of the garden located at the roundabout. The impact caused a severe tibial plateau fracture in his left leg, which required surgery, resulting in his being on sick leave for almost a year—351 days—with varying degrees of personal injury assessed by experts.
The case was formalized as a claim on May 10, 2024, with medical reports, the police report, and other relevant documentation attached. The administrative investigation confirmed that no watering work had been carried out in the area on the day of the incident and that the water was indeed coming from the garden's irrigation system. However, the proposed resolution prepared in March 2025 dismissed the claim, considering that the causal link between the operation of the municipal service and the accident had not been proven.
Despite this, the opinion of an external advisory body considers that such a causal link does exist. The motorcycle was not traveling at an unreasonable speed, and the victim complied with all traffic regulations. Nor was there any indirect cause attributable to the driver. Therefore, the doctrine of the principle of full reparation for damages—repeatedly endorsed by the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court—supports the government's obligation to compensate for the entire damage.
The requested figure includes both sick days and functional (valued at 9 points) and cosmetic (7 points) consequences, according to a medical expert report not refuted by the Administration. While the case continues, a fundamental question remains: how much does a fall in a public place cost when what fails is a simple sprinkler?
