Florida man's sewer line sliced by Verizon fiber crews — and left him with a $7,500 bill. Then a reporter called

The repair bill came to more than $7,500, Local12 reports.

What followed was a months-long dispute that left Chodura caught between two parties — both of whom said it wasn’t their problem — until a local WFLA TV reporter got involved.

Two parties, zero accountability

Chodura filed claims with both Verizon and the City of Clearwater. Both denied responsibility, according to WFLA. The Verizon crew’s position, as Chodura understood it, was that the underground lines had not been properly marked by the city. The city’s position was the opposite.

“[I’m] very disappointed because big companies like Verizon — a billion-dollar company — they deny any responsibility; the city denies responsibility; $7,500 is a big chunk,” Chodura told WFLA.

The City of Clearwater issued a statement placing responsibility on the contractor: “Under Florida’s Sunshine 811 damage prevention requirements, contractors must verify the location of underground utilities before proceeding with excavation or directional drilling. The city’s findings indicate that the contractor did not complete the required verification before drilling.”

Under Florida Statute Chapter 556, excavators who receive utility location information are still legally required to dig carefully and remain liable for damage caused by their excavation.

Sunshine 811 — Florida’s mandatory call-before-you-dig system — requires contractors to wait two full business days after submitting a locate ticket, verify the marks match the ticket responses and dig with care within a 24-inch tolerance zone around any marked facility.

Chodura’s situation is far from isolated. According to the Common Ground Alliance (CGA), Florida leads all U.S. states in damage to buried utilities, with nearly 26,000 incidents annually or 71 times per day.

Nationally, a CGA economic impact study puts the total cost of underground utility damage at $83.2 billion per year, with direct repair costs representing less than 6% of the total economic impact.