Shopping center owner faces injury claim by customer who broke ankle on ice patch

A West Chester, Pa. man who claims he had to have surgery on an ankle he fractured after

falling on a patch of ice in the parking lot of a local shopping center has filed a personal injury complaint against the owners of the property.

Newtown, Pa. attorney Brandon Swartz, of the firm Swartz Culleton, filed the civil action Aug. 23 at the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia on behalf of Joseph Venuto.

The defendant named in the lawsuit is Wilmington, DE-based Penn South Inc.

According to the complaint, Venuto became injured on Jan. 3 of last year while traversing the parking lot of the West Goshen Town Centre, which is located at 1115 West Chester Pike in West Chester.

While walking through the parking lot, Venuto slipped on ice that had accumulated on the ground, the suit states.

The complaint accuses the defendant of failing to remove and remediate the dangerous condition that existed on the premises.

As a result of the incident, Venuto suffered a fractured right ankle, an injury that required surgical repair.

Venuto also suffered a shock to his nervous system, the suit claims.

Venuto has had to spend various sums of money on medical expenses and he has suffered a loss of earning capacity due to his inability to work during his recovery time.

The plaintiff also sustained a loss of use of a bodily function and scarring as a result of his fall, the complaint states.

He has also suffered “unremitting physical pain,” suffering, mental anguish, embarrassment and humiliation, the suit says.

Venuto demands judgment against the defendant in a sum in excess of $150,000.

 

The federal case number is 2:12-cv-04851-MSG.