Atlantic City casino, elevator maintenance co. face personal injury claim by Phila. patron

A South Philadelphia woman is seeking $150,000 in damages relating to the serious

injuries she allegedly sustained after falling inside of an elevator at an Atlantic City casino resort.

Deanna J. Medley filed suit on June 25 at the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia over allegations that she sustained a concussion and other head trauma on Oct. 22, 2011, when, at about 4 in the afternoon, she fell onto her head and back when the elevator dropped during her exit.

The plaintiff was in the process of stepping out of the elevator at the Atlantic City Hilton at the time when the device dropped slightly, causing her to catch her foot on the floor edge and take a spill, the suit says.

Medley claims that the hotel and the company hired to maintain the elevator knew the device had leveling problems at the time of the incident, but didn’t properly address them.

The defendants listed in the lawsuit are RIH Acquisitions NJ LLC, which does business as The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel and the Atlantic City Hilton; RIH Propco NJ LLC; and the Otis Elevator Company.

Medley’s lawyers wrote in the personal injury suit that jurisdiction at the federal court in Philadelphia is proper because the defendants regularly conduct business in Pennsylvania.

As for her injuries, Medley claims the incident caused her to sustain a concussion with traumatic brain injury, post-concussion syndrome, cerebral blood clot, recurring headaches, light headedness, memory loss, sleep loss, loss of consciousness, ear ringing, fatigue, and a variety of injuries to her spine, tissues, muscles, cells, and bones.

The plaintiff also claims to have suffered from mental anguish, humiliation, embarrassment and a loss of life’s pleasures, and she maintains that the injuries have caused her to expend various amounts of money on medical treatment.

The suit faults the defendants for failing to make timely repairs to the elevator in question, and failing to remove the elevator from service when it was discovered that it had been experiencing leveling problems.

The hotel and elevator repair company are also accused of negligence for failing to warn casino patrons of the dangerous condition that existed on the premises.

In addition to the $150,000 in compensatory damages, Medley also seeks interest, costs and a jury trial.

Medley is being represented by Philadelphia attorney Bruce L. Neff.

 

The federal case number is 2:13-cv-03626-JHS.