Big Lots hit with premises liability claim

A man who injured himself at a Northeast Philly store is suing the retail outlet.

Feasterville, Pa.-based attorney Michael T. van der Veen, of Kats, van der Veen & Associates, filed the premises liability civil complaint June 28 at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Damon McCandless.

The defendants listed in the lawsuit are Big Lots Inc. and the Big Lots store in the Franklin Mills Mall complex at 161 Franklin Mills Boulevard.

According to the lawsuit, McCandless was navigating through the store’s toy department in late June 2009, when he tripped and fell over a piece of metal that had been jutting out from the bottom of a corner display.

The incident left McCandless with injuries to his head, neck, back, shoulders, arms, legs, torso and extremities, also causing pain, suffering and mental anguish, the lawsuit states.

The civil action accuses the defendants of negligence and carelessness for allowing an unsafe condition to exist at the store.

The incident has caused the plaintiff to incur various medical expenses, and has had an effect on his daily duties, activities and job function, the suit states.

McCandless seeks damages from the defendants jointly and/or severally in a sum not in excess of $50,000.

The non-jury matter is scheduled for an arbitration hearing on March 1, 2012.

The case number is 110602650.