MEDIA – A plaintiff who claimed she fell on spilled macaroni and cheese on the floor of her local Fresh Grocer supermarket and filed suit alleging the grocery store was responsible for her injuries, has settled her case.
Fanthya Nana filed suit in the Delaware Court of Common Pleas on Aug. 9, 2023 versus Fresh Grocer, Inc. Both parties are of Upper Darby.
“On or about Sept. 17, 2022, plaintiff was grocery shopping at defendant’s place of business, when she slipped and fell on macaroni and cheese that was on the floor of the deli section of the store. Plaintiff suffered injuries including but not limited to hitting her head on the ground and also left leg and left arm pain,” the suit said.
“Defendant is responsible for the maintenance, care, custody and operation of said property. Defendant had a duty of care to not expose others to the unreasonable risk. Defendant breached their duty of care by failing to properly maintain, care, protect and operate the property, causing plaintiff to slip and fall as set forth above. The aforementioned injury resulted solely from defendant’s breach of duty of care owed to plaintiff as stated herein, and was due in no manner whatsoever to any act or failure to act on the part of plaintiff. But for defendant’s failure to properly maintain, care, protect and operate the property, the incident would not have occurred.”
The suit added that all the injuries and damages were caused solely and proximately by the negligence of Fresh Grocer.
“As a result of the negligence and carelessness of Fresh Grocer, plaintiff suffered injuries which are or may be serious and permanent, including but not limited to the following: head, arm and leg. As a further result of the above-described negligence and carelessness of defendant, plaintiff has incurred and probably will continue to incur for an indefinite time in the future, various expenses for medicine and medical care in and about an effort to cure her of the said injuries. By reason of the aforesaid injuries, plaintiff was forced to incur liability for medical treatment, medications, hospitalizations and similar miscellaneous expenses in an effort to restore herself to health and a claim is made therefore,” the suit stated.
“As a result of the aforementioned injuries, plaintiff has undergone and in the future will undergo great physical suffering; great inconvenience in carrying out her daily activities, loss of life’s pleasures and enjoyment, and a claim is made therefore. As a result of the aforementioned injuries, plaintiff has sustained work loss, loss of opportunity and a permanent diminution of her earning power and capacity, and a claim is made therefore. Plaintiff continues to be plagued by persistent pain and limitations and therefore, avers that her injuries may be of a permanent nature, causing residual problems for the remainder of her lifetime, and a claim is made therefore.”
UPDATE
More than two weeks ahead of a scheduled arbitration hearing on May 6, counsel for the plaintiff filed a praecipe with the Court on April 18 announcing a settlement had been reached in the case. Terms of the settlement were not revealed, and the defendant had not put in an appearance for counsel or ever answered the plaintiff’s complaint.
“Kindly mark this matter settled, discontinued and ended,” the praecipe said.
The plaintiff was represented by Steven A. Jarvis of the Law Offices of Eric A. Shore, in Philadelphia.
The defendant did not retain legal counsel.
Delaware County Court of Common Pleas case CV-2023-006810
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com