A Philadelphia jury recently found that the owner and management of a building in Philadelphia were responsible for a woman losing her leg following a complication of an ankle injury she incurred slipping on a staircase with no handrail. The woman was awarded $15 million, the seventh-highest by a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court jury in 2024. The lawsuit was filed against the building’s owner, Alisha Real Estate, the building’s property management company, Bay Property Management Group, and a local contractor. The lawsuit stated that if the building had been up to code, with proper lighting in the staircase and a handrail as required by the city, the plaintiff would still have her leg. The plaintiff’s attorneys argued that Alisha Real Estate was focused on profit over tenant safety. The jury found that Alisha Real Estate was 75% responsible and Bay Property Management Group was 25% responsible, while the contractor was ruled not responsible at all.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 12/24/2024