Pa. woman who claims she suffered broken teeth in slip-and-fall sues Starbucks

A Pennsylvania woman who claims she sustained broken teeth and other injuries after falling face-first in the parking lot of a local Starbucks has filed a personal injury claim against the coffee giant in federal court.

Jamie Price of Phoenixville, Pa. claims in her lawsuit that she sustained a host of bodily injuries after she slipped on a patch of ice in the parking lot of the Starbucks coffee shop at 218 E. Lancaster Avenue in Wayne, Pa. on Jan. 4, 2011.

The complaint was filed Feb. 10 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by attorney Brandon A. Swartz of the firm Swartz Culleton P.C.

The defendants named in the lawsuit are Washington State-based Starbucks Coffee Company and Egg Harbor, N.J. resident Paul Mastropieri.

Price’s fall in the parking lot caused her to sustain broken teeth, cuts on her mouth, injuries to her knees, shoulders and hands, and disc injuries that required surgery, the lawsuit claims.

Price also suffered aches, pains, mental anxiety and anguish, and injuries to her nervous system, the suit states.

Price has incurred various medical expenses relating to the treatment of her injuries and she has suffered a loss of earning power throughout the duration of her treatment, the complaint alleges.

The complaint accuses the defendants of negligence for allowing ice to build up in the store’s parking lot, failing to inspect walkways that are used by business invitees, failing to adequately repair a defective premise, failing to warn patrons of the dangerous condition that existed on the premises and otherwise failing to provide a safe place for pedestrians.

The lawsuit claims that Price has suffered “great and unremitting physical pain, suffering and mental anguish” due to the accident, and that she has suffered a loss of the enjoyment of her usual duties, avocations and life’s pleasures and activities.

For each of the two counts listed in the lawsuit Price demands judgment in excess of $150,000.

A jury trial has been demanded.

The federal case number is 2:12-cv-00721-TJS.