James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA – A Pennsylvania woman who walked into a glass door is suing a King of Prussia store because it was too clean.
Caitlin Sullivan filed suit last month in Philadelphia federal court against Camp NYC, which operates a “family experience” store in the King of Prussia mall. She didn’t expect that experience to include a concussion and its lingering effects.
“Due to the door’s all-glass, barn-door-style construction, and the absence of any decals, markings, or other visible warning devices, the door was rendered effectively invisible and imperceptible to Plaintiff,” her lawsuit says. “It was only after the impact that Plaintiff realized the door was closed and immovable.”
It happened in January 2015, when Sullivan says she was “drawn to merchandise” displayed behind a floor-to-ceiling glass storefront. She walked in, checked it out, and tried to leave. A child was sitting on the right side of the doorway, so she exited on the left-hand side.
She believed the door was open on that side too, but she “violently” collided with it. She blames Camp NYC for failing to use signage, floor markings or other materials to channel customers away from the “defective and dangerous door and towards a safe, functional exit.”
The suit also faults the company for installing doors insufficient to alert patrons whether they are open or closed, failing to install push bars on them, failing to anticipate children would be in the doorway and allowing one side to be open while the other is closed.
Since the accident, Sullivan says she suffers from headaches, migraines and an impaired capacity to concentrate. All that has prevented her from pursuing her hobbies and from working, leading to loss of wages and income, the suit says.
Richard Kupersmith and Liam McClelland of Haggerty Goldberg Schleifer & Kupersmith in Philadelphia represent her.
