Philadelphia School District and city hit with slip-and-fall suit

A Philadelphia woman is suing both the School District of Philadelphia and the city for injuries she sustained after falling on a portion of allegedly defective sidewalk in front of a school building.

According to a complaint filed at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas May 17 by attorney Joseph S. Lukomski, of the firm Rovner, Allen, Rovner, Zimmerman and Nash, client Julianne Ervin was injured May 19, 2009 when she tripped and stumbled over a piece of raised, uneven and cracked sidewalk on Cottman Avenue in front of Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Northeast Philadelphia.

“The … accident resulted solely from the negligence and carelessness of the defendants …,” the lawsuit states.

The complaint accuses the school district and the city of negligence in failing to have the allegedly defective sidewalk fixed and for allowing a dangerous condition to exist in front of a school, an area traversed by pedestrians on a daily basis.

As a result of the incident, the plaintiff suffered “severe and permanent” injuries, including a proximal humerus fracture with a splitting deformity of the humeral head, right shoulder and arm pain, contusions, abrasions and other physical injuries.

Ervin has had to undergo medical and rehabilitative treatment, which has caused her to expend various sums of money, the suit states. She is expected to require further treatment.

Ervin has also suffered a loss of earning capacity due to the accident, the suit states.

Ervin seeks two separate judgments against the defendants each in a sum in excess of $50,000, plus interest, court costs and attorney’s fees.

The plaintiff has requested a jury trial.

The case number is 110501943.