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http://mdcoastdispatch.com/2014/09/18/oc-seeks-wheelchair-suit-dismissal/
Posted on 09/18/2014 by DispatchAdmin
OCEAN CITY — The Town of Ocean City is requesting the dismissal of a civil suit brought in August seeking $750,000 by an elderly Philadelphia woman following her fall from a wheelchair in 2012 allegedly due to a defective rubber warning mat on a resort street corner.
According to the complaint, on June 16, 2012, the plaintiff, Oda Wendt, 89, of Philadelphia, arrived in Ocean City for her first-ever vacation in the resort. Around 7:50 p.m., Wendt and her family left their condominium to visit the Boardwalk and Wendt was being pushed in a wheelchair by her daughter, Astrid Seiger.
After visiting the Boardwalk, Wendt and her family were going back to their condo and attempted to cross Philadelphia Ave. at Worcester Street from east to west. According to the complaint, the daughter was pushing Wendt in the wheelchair when it struck one of the hard rubber warning mats on the handicap-accessible street corners.
“As Ms. Seiger was pushing the wheelchair up onto the handicap section of the sidewalk on the northeast corner of Worcester Street and Philadelphia Ave, the front wheel of the wheelchair struck a piece of the hard rubber warning mat partially attached to the ramp,” the complaint reads. “This motion caused the wheelchair to stop suddenly, causing the plaintiff to fall out of the wheelchair and sustain an open fracture to her left arm.”
On August 20, Wendt, through her attorney, filed suit in U.S. District Court against the town of Ocean City seeking a combined $750,000 in damages on three counts including negligence, strict liability and a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, there is some question of liability.
On Monday, the Town of Ocean City filed its formal answer to the suit, seeking an immediate dismissal of the case. The former answer systematically denies nearly every paragraph and sentence in the complaint, including an assertion the responsibility for the alleged negligence falls on the state. While the town owns and maintains the sidewalks in the resort, the State Highway Administration (SHA) installed the rubber warning mats after the town completed a comprehensive upgrade of the sidewalks to bring them into compliance with the ADA codes.
“The defendants state that Philadelphia Avenue is a state highway and that the wheelchair accessible ramp warning mat was emplaced by the State Highway Administration,” the answer filed on Monday reads.
According to the complaint, in accordance with the Maryland Tort Claims Act, a notice of personal injury claim was filed with the Maryland Treasurer’s Office in October. However, the plaintiff received a response to the claim denying the state was responsible and designating the town of Ocean City as the appropriate party. The suit asserts the town is responsible for maintaining safe access along its sidewalks for handicapped invitees to the resort.
“At the time of the incident, the wheelchair ramp warning mat had worn rubber torn off around the center and right of the ramp,” the complaint reads. “The rubber mat was not flat and uniform as required by the ADA. The defect or unsafe condition of the mat and ramp was such that it could or should have been discovered by the exercise of ordinary care by the defendants.”
Essentially, the suit alleges while SHA installed the rubber warning mat in question, it is the town’s responsibility to maintain the safety of its sidewalks.
“At the time of the occurrence, the plaintiff was lawfully on the property of the defendants,” the suit reads. “Defendants were the owners, managers and supervisors of the property and consequently owed the plaintiff a duty to use reasonable care to maintain the premises safely and to protect her from unreasonable risk.”
Posted on 09/18/2014 by DispatchAdmin
OCEAN CITY — The Town of Ocean City is requesting the dismissal of a civil suit brought in August seeking $750,000 by an elderly Philadelphia woman following her fall from a wheelchair in 2012 allegedly due to a defective rubber warning mat on a resort street corner.
According to the complaint, on June 16, 2012, the plaintiff, Oda Wendt, 89, of Philadelphia, arrived in Ocean City for her first-ever vacation in the resort. Around 7:50 p.m., Wendt and her family left their condominium to visit the Boardwalk and Wendt was being pushed in a wheelchair by her daughter, Astrid Seiger.
After visiting the Boardwalk, Wendt and her family were going back to their condo and attempted to cross Philadelphia Ave. at Worcester Street from east to west. According to the complaint, the daughter was pushing Wendt in the wheelchair when it struck one of the hard rubber warning mats on the handicap-accessible street corners.
“As Ms. Seiger was pushing the wheelchair up onto the handicap section of the sidewalk on the northeast corner of Worcester Street and Philadelphia Ave, the front wheel of the wheelchair struck a piece of the hard rubber warning mat partially attached to the ramp,” the complaint reads. “This motion caused the wheelchair to stop suddenly, causing the plaintiff to fall out of the wheelchair and sustain an open fracture to her left arm.”
On August 20, Wendt, through her attorney, filed suit in U.S. District Court against the town of Ocean City seeking a combined $750,000 in damages on three counts including negligence, strict liability and a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, there is some question of liability.
On Monday, the Town of Ocean City filed its formal answer to the suit, seeking an immediate dismissal of the case. The former answer systematically denies nearly every paragraph and sentence in the complaint, including an assertion the responsibility for the alleged negligence falls on the state. While the town owns and maintains the sidewalks in the resort, the State Highway Administration (SHA) installed the rubber warning mats after the town completed a comprehensive upgrade of the sidewalks to bring them into compliance with the ADA codes.
“The defendants state that Philadelphia Avenue is a state highway and that the wheelchair accessible ramp warning mat was emplaced by the State Highway Administration,” the answer filed on Monday reads.
According to the complaint, in accordance with the Maryland Tort Claims Act, a notice of personal injury claim was filed with the Maryland Treasurer’s Office in October. However, the plaintiff received a response to the claim denying the state was responsible and designating the town of Ocean City as the appropriate party. The suit asserts the town is responsible for maintaining safe access along its sidewalks for handicapped invitees to the resort.
“At the time of the incident, the wheelchair ramp warning mat had worn rubber torn off around the center and right of the ramp,” the complaint reads. “The rubber mat was not flat and uniform as required by the ADA. The defect or unsafe condition of the mat and ramp was such that it could or should have been discovered by the exercise of ordinary care by the defendants.”
Essentially, the suit alleges while SHA installed the rubber warning mat in question, it is the town’s responsibility to maintain the safety of its sidewalks.
“At the time of the occurrence, the plaintiff was lawfully on the property of the defendants,” the suit reads. “Defendants were the owners, managers and supervisors of the property and consequently owed the plaintiff a duty to use reasonable care to maintain the premises safely and to protect her from unreasonable risk.”
