HARRISBURG – Dismissing arguments from a Monroe County couple accusing a recovery center of negligence that led to a patient's fall, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed summary judgment for Pocono Mountain Recovery Center LLC on April 24.
Judge Victor Stabile authored the opinion. Judges Paula Francisco Ott and Maria McLaughlin agreed.
Alison and Jason Bless argued that the Court of Common Pleas of Monroe County erred when it granted summary judgment for PMRC after applying the “hills and ridges” doctrine from a previous case.
Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Victor P. Stabile
They also called out the lower court for not listening to their statement that a “visitation day” at PMRC should have been cancelled. That would have prevented Jason Bless from visiting Alison Bless, and stopped Alison Bless from getting hurt after falling on the property, it was alleged.
They sued PMRC for negligence, accusing it of not keeping the area safe and clear for invitees. PMRC was granted its motion for summary judgment thanks to the hills and ridges doctrine.
That regulation “protects an owner or occupier of land from liability for generally slippery conditions resulting from ice and snow where the owner has not permitted the ice and snow to unreasonably accumulate in ridges or elevations,” according to the lawsuit.
As for the “hills and ridges” argument, the appeals court made clear that Alison Bless knew of the risks when she went out into the cold before falling. Plus, there’s no testimony on record of a huge accumulation of snow or lots of ice on the ridges.
A PMRC worker did say that she got the group home earlier that morning, and that she didn’t have any issues getting up the street in question. The snow wasn’t heavy at the time, the plaintiffs argued, but that changed as the day continued. Still, the court affirmed summary judgment for the first issue.
It also sided with PMRC for the second issue, which was the center's failure to cancel the visitation day due to inclement weather.
“This allegation of negligence was not included in appellant’s complaint, was not advanced in the court of discovery, and was not developed with any argument or citation to legal authority in appellants’ memorandum in opposition,” Stabile wrote.
Ultimately, the court didn’t take any issue with the lower court’s summary judgment for PMRC, so it affirmed.
Alison Bless was a patient at the home when Jason Bless was supposed to visit her on Jan. 4, 2015. He tried to drive but was blocked due to bad weather. Alison Bless told him to go another way, but a nearby road, Rockcrest Drive, was too icy. Jason Bless still attempted to drive up the icy road and hit another car after his own slipped on the ice. She went outside to check on things and slipped and fell, breaking her ankle.