Philly International Airport faces slip-and-fall lawsuit

A New Jersey man who claims he was injured after slipping on a puddle of motor oil in the parking lot of Philadelphia International Airport is suing the airfield in civil court.

Attorney Marc A. Weinberg, of the Jenkintown, Pa. law firm of Saffren & Weinberg, filed the personal injury lawsuit Sept. 7 at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Dan Berlin of Monroe Township, N.J.

Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are the City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

According to the lawsuit, Berlin was walking through the parking lot outside of Terminal E at the airport in mid September 2009 at about 1:30 p.m. when he suddenly slipped on a grease/oil puddle that had formed on the ground.

As a result of the incident, Berlin sustained various physical injuries including a right rotator cuff tear requiring surgery; right arm sprain and strain with pain; right buttock pain; right lower leg pain; right lumbar disc bulges; intermittent right L4 radiculopathy; and other ills and injuries, the lawsuit states.

Berlin has had to spend substantial sums of money on medical attention, and he is expected to do so in the future.

As a result of the slip-and-fall, Berlin has suffered “great pain and agony,” and has been prevented from attending to his usual duties and activities, occupations, and household chores, the suit states.

The complaint accuses the defendants of negligence for failing to properly inspect the parking lot in question, failing to correct the dangerous and defective condition that existed, failing to warn pedestrians of the hazardous condition, and otherwise failing to exercise due and proper care under the circumstances.

For each of the three counts listed in the complaint, Berlin demands judgment against the defendants in an amount in excess of $50,000, plus legal fees.

No jury trial is being requested.

The case number is 110900266.