PHILADELPHIA – A settlement has been reached between fast food giant McDonald’s and a woman who claimed that a fall outside its South Philadelphia location caused injuries to her limbs and spine and gave her post-traumatic stress disorder.
On May 6, an attorney representing plaintiff Sherrill Williams filed papers requesting the case be marked as settled. Terms of the settlement were not revealed.
Williams, of Philadelphia, first filed suit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on June 15, 2018, versus McDonald’s and Manish Shah, also of Philadelphia, McDonald’s Corporation of Oak Brook, Ill., Mahavir Muni, LLC and Muni & Mahavir Muni, LLC of Bensalem, plus Robert Herskowitz, Henry Herskowitz and R&H Herskowitz, of Deptford, N.J.
“On Sept. 11, 2016, while plaintiff, Sherrill Williams, was lawfully proceeding on the walkway or sidewalk located at 914-924 South Broad Street, suddenly and without warning, plaintiff Williams did trip, stumble and/or fall by reason of coming into contact with the aforesaid irregularly raised and/or depressed walkway or sidewalk, causing her to sustain personal injuries,” per the litigation.
Williams claimed McDonald’s and the other defendants were negligent in not maintaining the walkway or sidewalk in a safe condition and failing to properly inspect, design, maintain, repair, construct and/or maintain the subject walkway or sidewalk in a safe manner.
The suit alleged as a result of that same negligence, Williams suffered a Colles fracture of the right radius, fractures of the right middle finger, left wrist and left elbow, a TFCC tear of the left wrist, left elbow epicondylitis, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, facial contusion and abrasions, bilateral abrasions of the hands, a chipped tooth, acute strain and sprain of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine, post-traumatic pain-induced insomnia, post-traumatic stress and anxiety, post-traumatic emotional and psychological upset and a severe and permanent shock to her nervous system.
Before settlement and for one count of negligence, the plaintiff was seeking damages, jointly and severally, in excess of $50,000 plus interest and costs.
The plaintiff was represented by Jeffrey S. Shorr of Dashevsky, Horwitz, Kuhn, Novello & Shorr, in Philadelphia.
The defendants were represented by Gerard F. Lipski of Campbell Lipski & Dochney, also in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 180601721
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com