Supermarket Overhead Lighting Fell on Customer
Our client was shopping in the Acme supermarket in Boothwyn, Pennsylvania the day before Thanksgiving when a four-foot-by-one-foot (4’x1’) metal cover on an overhead light fixture suddenly fell from height, striking our unsuspecting and completely innocent client. Our client was struck in the head and fell to the ground, suffering head and neck injuries.
Less than two weeks before our client’s injury, Acme had renovated the Boothwyn store. Acme hired at least eight (8) contractors for the renovation project. The renovation work included cleaning the overhead light fixtures, as well as changing any dead lightbulbs in those light fixtures.
While there was no “smoking gun” showing exactly what caused the metal grate to fall, all of the defendants admitted that neither the light fixture nor any piece of it should ever fall, and that it could only fall if there was negligence. One contractor – Belfor Property Restoration – had direct physical contact with the light fixture in question by cleaning it, including specifically the metal grate. Three other contractors – Joe the Handyman Construction, LLC, Candela Systems Corporation, and Aetna Lighting Service, Inc. – were all responsible for changing any dead lightbulbs, and seven (7) of the twenty-four (24) lightbulbs hanging above the area where our client was standing had been replaced. Further, the light fixture and the metal grate belonged to Acme, and Acme was ultimately responsible for overseeing and inspecting all work done.
Our client suffered from post-concussion syndrome, including dizziness, vertigo, and imbalance that even caused him to fall and injure himself multiple times since his injury at Acme. He suffered from headaches, nausea, and insomnia, as well as neck pain caused by the fallen metal grate. Our client’s injuries also required him to miss more than two months of work.
After extensive litigation, at a private mediation held prior to trial we were able to obtain a settlement for our client and his wife.
