Area hospital slapped with slip-and-fall suit by woman who suffered fractured ankle

A Philadelphia woman who says she had to have metal plates and screws implanted in her body during surgery to fix a fractured ankle caused by a fall at an area hospital has filed a lawsuit against the medical facility and its parent organization.

Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, Pa., as well as Philadelphia-based Mercy Catholic Medical Center of Southeast Pennsylvania and Conshohocken, Pa.-based Mercy Health System, are named as defendants in a premises liability complaint filed at Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court April 19 by Philadelphia attorneys Jeffrey R. Lessin and Mark T. Richter on behalf of Gwendolyn Bass.

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of negligence relating to a Jan. 3, 2011 incident in which Bass, who was going to visit a patient at Mercy Fitzgerald, allegedly slipped and fell on a patch of ice outside of the medical complex.

The complaint accuses the defendants of failing to properly inspect the premises, failing to warn pedestrians of the dangerous condition, failing to select and hire competent contractors to maintain the hospital’s walkways, allowing ice and snow to accumulate on the premises, violating municipal ordinances, and failing to properly address the melting and freezing of snow on the premises.

As a result of her fall, the suit states, Bass needed to undergo surgery to repair a fractured right ankle, a procedure that included the installation of a metal plate and two surgical screws.

She also had to have spinal surgery relating to the back injuries she also suffered during the fall.

Bass has suffered a loss of range of motion due to her physical injuries, and she also suffered serious soft tissue injuries, as well as the aggravation of pre-existing conditions.

Bass continues to suffer from physical pains and mental anguish, the lawsuit claims, and she has experienced financial loss due to her inability to work and her need to pay off hospital bills.

Bass seeks judgment in excess of $50,000.

 

The case ID number is 120402233.