Philadelphia, Transit Agencies paid Millions in Personal Injury, Slip-and-Fall cases

The city of Philadelphia and three area public transit agencies have paid out millions of dollars in personal injury, slip-and-fall lawsuits stemming from leaking ceilings and slippery floors.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that over the past five years there has been 513 slip-and-fall cases against SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, costing the agency $10.5 million.

An audit by PATCO, the Port Authority Transit Corporation, and its parent, the Delaware River Port Authority, noted that "in-station and on-train slip-and-fall type claims were common." Over the past decade, the two agencies paid $17.6 million for 46 cases, including slip-and-falls, the paper reported.

Despite the hefty payouts, the paper found that the transit agencies have done little to correct the wet conditions.

The paper identified numerous points in the transit lines where there were gaping holes in ceilings and stalactites of corrosion with little more than "wet floor" signs and buckets to prevent accidents.

Sometimes, crews paint over leaks only for drips to seep through.

In one case, SEPTA workers had reported a leak in a section that remained for years. It was always wet, one worker said in a deposition, even during a drought.

"This solution is comical," Russell Kendzior, founder of the National Floor Safety Institute and author of Falls Aren't Funny, a book about fall prevention, told the Inquirer. "They've got a problem, and this is the symptom, not the solution. They need to fix the problem."

The Philadelphia personal injury attorneys at Ross Feller Casey, LLP have an impressive track record of successfully litigating slip-and-fall claims and catastrophic injury cases. Victories include a series of seven-and eight-figure verdicts and settlements. Among them was an $85 million verdict for a man who fell through a Center City Philadelphia manhole. It is the largest premises liability verdict in Pennsylvania history.

If you or a loved one have suffered serious injuries in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, contact us now for a free case evaluation.