Personal injury complaint filed against city eatery

A Philadelphia woman is suing a city eatery for injuries she sustained after being inadvertently struck with an object while dining at the business.

Attorney Daniel J. O’Brien, of the Conshohocken, Pa.-based firm White and Williams, LLP, filed the personal injury claim June 9 at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Ann F. Stimmler-Arentzen.

According to the civil suit, the plaintiff was a customer at defendant Sabrina’s Café, located at 910 Christian St. in South Philadelphia, sometime in mid January of this year, when she suffered “severe, disabling, disfiguring, permanent bodily injuries” after being struck in the leg by a large, heavy wooden board that had been used to cover an overhead vent in a wall near the front door of the restaurant.

The lawsuit faults the defendant for failing to inspect the premises to make sure it was safe for business invitees. It also accuses the restaurant of placing the wooden board in the vent/wall opening in a “negligent and careless way.”

According to the complaint, the plaintiff sustained injuries to her right, lower extremity, resulting in reflex sympathetic dystrophy, which the suit maintains is a very painful, disabling and disfiguring condition.”

As a result of the accident, the suit claims, Stimmler-Arentzen has suffered a loss of earnings, and has incurred various medical expenses. Her daily activities, such as walking and driving, have also been affected by her injuries.

The plaintiff seeks a judgment against the defendant in an amount in excess of $50,000.

A jury trial has been requested. The case awaits listing.

The case number is 110600566.