City restaurant sued for stairwell incident

A former patron of a Philadelphia restaurant who alleges she sustained serious injuries after falling down the stairs at the business is suing the eatery.

In her premises liability claim, filed May 24 at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas by Philadelphia attorney Arthur S. Novello, of the firm Dashevsky, Horowitz, Kuhn and Novello, P.C., Patricia Mirarchi alleges that a dimly lit stairwell was responsible for her injuries, which occurred when she was a business invitee in mid June 2009.

The lawsuit states that inadequate lighting and “other dangerous conditions relating to stairways” created a “highly dangerous and defective condition” for Mirarchi and other patrons of the Rose Tattoo Restaurant Café, located at 1847 Callowhill St. in the city’s Spring Garden section.

According to the complaint, Mirarchi sustained numerous severe and permanent internal and external injuries, including, but not limited to, spine sprain and strain, ankle, shoulder and lower back injuries, muscle spasms, numbness and tingling in the feet, hand injuries, joint paint, and disc problems.

Mirarchi’s injuries have caused her “great pain and agony,” the suit states, and have prevented her from carrying out her job and daily duties and activities.

Mirarchi has had to expend various sums of money on medical treatment, and is expected to do the same in the future, the lawsuit claims.

The complaint accuses the restaurant of failing to properly inspect and maintain the stairway, failing to install proper handrails, violating numerous city, state and national building codes and city ordinances, and being “otherwise negligent under the circumstances.”

Mirarchi demands judgment against the defendant in an amount in excess of $50,000, plus interest and court costs.

The non-jury matter awaits case listing.

The case number is 110502630.