PITTSBURGH – A local woman alleges that a restaurant was negligent in placing a wire bread rack on its premises, causing her to trip and fall during a visit to that same restaurant nearly a year and a half ago.
Margie Mamula filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on June 19 versus Carrick Poultry, Inc. (doing business as “Frisch’s Restaurant”) Both parties are of Pittsburgh.
“On or about Jan. 27, 2022, plaintiff Margie Mamula was a business invitee to the defendant’s restaurant business, intending to purchase food items for her use. On or about Jan. 27, 2022, plaintiff entered the defendant’s restaurant to make a purchase of food. She went to the deli counter to see what food options existed, and then proceeded to try and move into position to make her purchase near the register. The defendant’s food and deli products were displayed behind the counter in a long deli case,” the suit says.
“The defendant’s menu and price board were located behind the counter, mounted high on the wall. The line was disorganized and customers were waited upon in no particular order. The counter/register area was very busy and packed with customers. The defendant had no method of placing customers in an organized line or providing numbers to be called to place orders.”
The suit adds that the plaintiff’s attention was drawn to the menu board and she was trying to get in position among other customers to make her purchase, when she came into contact with a long wire rack the defendant had placed in front of the counter, which was filled with bread products.
“All business invitee customers at the defendant’s restaurant must use the counter service to place their order before picking up their food order. In the process of looking at the menu board and in trying to get in ‘line’ at the counter, plaintiff’s foot caught on the wire bread rack, causing her to trip and fall to the ground. The plaintiff sustained serious and permanent injuries in her fall,” the suit states.
“The injuries and injuries sustained by the plaintiff were the direct and proximate result of the negligence of the defendant in placing the metal wire bread rack in a location where defendant knew or should have known customers would walk to make purchases, knew or should have known could be obscured by the presence of other many customers standing in a disorganized line waiting to make a counter purchase and knew or should have known that the attention of customers would be drawn toward the menu and price board, mounted high on the wall behind the counter. The accident and resulting damages were in no way caused or contributed to by any negligence on the part of the plaintiff.”
Mamula claims to have sustained a fracture to the right proximal humerus, non-displaced fracture of the left superior and inferior ramus, strains, sprains and bruising to the right shoulder, strain, sprain and bruising to the left hip, fractures to her pelvis, a right proximal wrist fracture, strains, sprains and bruising to the right wrist, atrial flittering/fibrillation, general anxiety and other serious and permanent injuries.
For a lone count of negligence, the plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of the jurisdictional limits of compulsory arbitration, plus all costs, interest and such other and further relief as this Honorable Court may deem just and equitable.
The plaintiff is represented by Thomas D. Hall and Terry L.M. Bashline of the Law Offices of Hall & Copetas, in Pittsburgh.
The defendant has not yet obtained legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-23-007573
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com