PHILADELPHIA – A Bucks County man claims a negligently maintained “truncated dome” sidewalk outside his local Costco caused him to fall and be seriously injured.
Richard Mather of Richboro filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Jan. 4 versus Costco Wholesale Corp. (c/o CT Corporation) of Harrisburg, John Does 1-10, Jane Does 1-10 and XYZ Corporations 1-10
Mather was shopping at his local Costco Wholesale store in Warminster on Aug. 30, 2019, per the litigation.
“On Aug. 30, 2019, plaintiff was returning his shopping cart from the parking lot area to the designated return location at the entrance of the Costco building, when his foot came into contact with a depression of the sidewalk, known as the ‘truncated dome’ and was caused to lose his balance, tripping, stumbling and falling, sustaining serious and permanent injuries,” the suit says.
The plaintiff maintains that the defendants knew or should have known that the sidewalk was deficient and a dangerous condition.
“Plaintiff sustained severe and multiple injuries…including, but not limited to: Complex Region Pain Syndrome of the left lower extremity, requiring a series of nerve blocks and insertion of spinal cord pain stimulator, left foot and ankle pain with impact fracture, left knee pain, internal injuries of an unknown nature, severe aches, pains, mental anxiety and anguish, severe shock to his entire nervous system, exacerbation of all known and unknown pre-existing medical conditions, if any, and other injuries that will represent a permanent and substantial impairment of plaintiff’s bodily functioning, that substantially impairs plaintiff’s ability to perform his daily life activities, and the full extent of which is not yet known,” according to the lawsuit.
For a count of negligence, the plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of $75,000, plus interest and costs of suit.
The plaintiff is represented by Charles S. Cooper of Cooper Schall & Levy, in Philadelphia.
The defendants have not yet obtained legal counsel.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:21-cv-00016
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com