PHILADELPHIA – A cell phone store customer believes a security guard with a violent criminal past assaulted him during his removal from the South Philadelphia store nearly two years ago.
Darnell Jones of Philadelphia filed suit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on July 6 versus Allstate Security Inc. (now known as Security Resources of PA Inc. and doing business as “Honor Guard Security”).
“On or about Aug. 8, 2015, plaintiff [Darnell] Jones was a lawful invitee shopping at Verizon Wireless Retailer, Cellular Sales, when an employee, a security guard, physically assaulted plaintiff [Darnell] Jones in his attempt to remove plaintiff from the store, closing and/or hitting plaintiff with the exit doors, causing plaintiff to sustain injury when he fell back onto the ground,” the suit states.
According to the lawsuit, the security company failed to properly pre-screen the unnamed security guard for employment, since he allegedly had a violent criminal past. The suit adds the defendant did not exercise due care in identifying the employee’s history of criminal behavior before hiring him and not terminating him immediately when they supposedly learned of it.
“As a sole and direct result of the original incident, plaintiff [Darnell] Jones suffered severe and diverse injuries including, but not limited to, a closed-head injury, acute traumatic sprain and/or strain of cervical spine and lumbar spine, right forearm sprain and/or strain, right wrist sprain and/or strain and right thumb sprain and/or strain,” the suit says.
For a single count of negligence, the plaintiff is seeking damages, jointly and severally, not in excess of the arbitration limits, plus interest, costs and attorney’s fees in this matter.
The plaintiff is represented by Casey O. Srogoncik of Clearfield & Kofsky, in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 170700245
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nickpennrecord@gmail.com