PITTSBURGH – A Western Pennsylvania woman says her left knee injuries are the result of her landlord’s negligence, in failing to remedy dangerous conditions on the stairway outside her apartment.
Theresa Crowell of McKees Rocks filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Dec. 15 versus Douglas Sheerer, of Pittsburgh.
“On March 13, 2019, plaintiff was a tenant who resided at 204 McCoy Road, Apartment 2, Stowe Township, Pennsylvania 15136. On the morning of the incident, plaintiff was ascending the stairway from her basement apartment up to the ground level to retrieve her mail. Plaintiff then slipped and fell into a hole and injured her left knee. Defendant was notified of the fall,” the suit says.
“On April 1, 2019, plaintiff was a tenant who resided at 204 McCoy Road, Apartment 2, Stowe Township, Pennsylvania 15136, when she was descending the steps from the ground level to her basement apartment, when she slipped and fell due to a lack of a handrail and the appearance of a stray dog, causing her to descend the steps more quickly and injuring both of her knees. There was a lack of a handrail, as it had been removed due to the demolition of the adjoining property located at 206-208 McCoy Road in 2018. The handrail has never been replaced.”
As a result, the plaintiff suffered multiple injuries to her left knee and incurred numerous medical bills for treatment related to those same injuries. The plaintiff maintains that the defendant failed to reasonably maintain the property and repair the defects that led to her two successive falls.
For two counts of negligence, the plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages in excess of the jurisdictional limits for mandatory arbitration.
The plaintiff is represented by Thomas D. Hall of the Law Offices of Hall & Copetas, in Pittsburgh.
The defendant has not yet secured legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-20-012635
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com