PITTSBURGH – A New Jersey couple claim that a resort’s uneven drop-off between a cement walkway and a pebbled path led to the husband-plaintiff falling off his motorized wheelchair and seriously injuring himself in the process.
James Garibaldi and Agatha Garibaldi of Chatham, N.J. filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Aug. 30 versus Nemacolin Woodlands, Inc. (doing business as “Nemacolin Woodlands Resort”) of Farmington.
“On July 21, 2023, plaintiffs James Garibaldi and Agatha Garibaldi were business invitees of the defendant who were lawfully on the premises as guests. Plaintiff James Garibaldi is an individual who is dependent on the aid of a motorized wheelchair to move about and travel certain distances. At all times relevant hereto, plaintiffs were informed by the defendant that the defendant’s premises was a handicapped accessible area. At all times relevant hereto, the defendant also provided plaintiff-husband with a motorized wheelchair to use while he was on the premises,” the suit states.
“At all times relevant hereto, the motorized wheelchair used by the plaintiff while on the premises of the defendant was owned by the defendant. Then and there, the plaintiff was a business invitee to whom the defendant owed a reasonably duty of care to keep its commercial premises free of dangerous conditions. Then and there, plaintiff and plaintiff-wife were moving along a cement walkway from one area of the resort to another – plaintiff was in his wheelchair provided by the defendant and plaintiff-wife was walking behind him. At all times relevant and material hereto, there existed a dangerous, defective, hazardous and unsafe condition on the premises of the defendant, characterized by an uneven walkway.”
The suit continues that the plaintiff reached the end of the cement walkway while in his motorized wheelchair, which ended in a grassy area to the front and a pebbled stone path to the left.
“Then and there, the wheelchair occupied by the plaintiff tipped over due to the height difference between the cement walkway and pebbled path. Then and there, the plaintiff fell violently from his wheelchair to the ground, which resulted in serious personal injuries and other damages to him,” the suit says.
“As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of the defendant as aforesaid, the plaintiff fell violently to the ground from his wheelchair and suffered the following injuries, some of which may be permanent: Traumatic left femoral neck hip fracture; sepsis syndrome; hematoma of the left lateral thigh; hematoma leukemoid response; transfusion-reaction; surgical-induced venous thrombosis; bruising, contusions and other injuries in or about nerves, muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, tissues and vessels of the body; permanent surgical scarring; temporary and permanent disfigurement, debilitating pain and increased risk of future surgeries.”
For counts of negligence and loss of consortium, the plaintiffs are seeking damages in excess of the arbitration jurisdiction of this Court, together with the costs of action and other relief as may be just.
The plaintiffs are represented by Benjamin W. Schweers of the Law Offices of Kapusta & Schweers, in Pittsburgh.
The defendant has not yet secured legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-23-010243
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com