PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia woman asserts she suffered a variety of injuries due to a sidewalk fall which took place in front of Independence Hall, in Philadelphia’s Old City district, and claims both the federal and local governments are responsible.
Cassandra Johnson of Philadelphia filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on March 27 versus the National Park Service’s Department of the Interior in Philadelphia, the United States of America in Washington, D.C. and the City of Philadelphia.
“At all times material hereto, defendants did own and/or operate and/or manage and/or control and/or possess the property including the sidewalk located at or near 501 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On or about July 28, 2021, and for some time prior thereto, defendants, acting by and through their agents, servants, workmen and/or employees, acting as aforesaid carelessly and negligently allowed a cracked and/or uneven and/or unlevel portion of the sidewalk to remain at the aforesaid location, for an unreasonable period of time,” the suit states.
“On or about July 28, 2021, plaintiff Cassandra Johnson, while an invitee at the aforesaid location, did sustain injury by reason of coming in contact with the aforementioned dangerous conditions at the aforesaid location, causing plaintiff the injuries that form the basis for this action. The aforesaid accident was due solely to the negligence and carelessness of the defendant, acting as aforesaid, and was due in no manner whatsoever to any act or failure to act on the part of the plaintiff.”
The suit adds that the plaintiff’s injuries were caused solely by and were the direct and proximate result of the negligence of the defendants, which consisted, of the following: (a) Allowing and/or causing a dangerous and defective condition to exist of the sidewalk, of which defendants knew or should have known by the exercise of reasonable care; (b) Said dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the kind of injuries which plaintiff sustained; (c) Failing to inspect the sidewalk at reasonable intervals to determine the condition thereof; and (d) That the defendants knew, or should have known, of the existence of said dangerous condition, among other examples of negligent conduct.
“Plaintiff Cassandra Johnson, as a direct and proximate result of the wrongful and negligent conduct of the defendant, suffered the following injuries, which have resulted in the permanent loss of a bodily function, including but not limited to: Closed head injury, multiple facial abrasions and contusions resulting in skin discoloration and permanent scarring, back injury, musculoskeletal injuries, as well as other injuries as may be diagnosed by plaintiff’s health care providers, all of which injuries have in the past, and may in the future, cause plaintiff great pain and suffering,” the suit says.
“As a further result of this accident, plaintiff Cassandra Johnson has been or will be required to receive and undergo medical attention and care and to expend various sums of money and to incur various expenses for the injuries she has suffered, the cost or reasonable value of which is, or according to the advice of plaintiff’s treating physician may be, in excess of $1,500, and may be obliged to continue to expend such sums or incur such expenditures for an indefinite time in the future.”
The suit also provides that four months prior to the complaint’s filing, on Nov. 27, 2023, defendant National Park Service-Department of the Interior denied the plaintiff’s claim.
For multiple counts of negligence, the plaintiff is seeking judgment in her favor and, jointly and severally, compensatory damages commensurate with her losses.
The plaintiff is represented by Frank Bizzari III of Clearfield & Kofsky, in Philadelphia.
The defendants have not yet secured legal counsel.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:24-cv-01304
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com