"Florida mom feels airport at fault for son's fall"

Tuesday, September 2, 2003

Fla. mom feels airport at fault for son's fall 
By MICHAEL P. BUFFER 
The Easton (PA) Express-Times 


A Florida woman has filed a negligence lawsuit in federal court, claiming
her 2-year-old son suffered neurological and brain injuries when he fell 20
feet at Lehigh Valley International Airport two years ago. 

According to the lawsuit, Riley Neeb walked toward an escalator to a lower
level and put his hand on the rubber railing which was moving downward. His
body was pulled to the right and he fell through an unguarded opening
between the escalator handrail and the second floor balcony railing, the
suit said. 
   
"The handrail balcony railing and overall design and installation of the
escalator was defective because there was an unreasonably large and
unguarded opening between the rotating escalator handrail and the balcony
railing, which was large enough for a small child, like Riley, to pass
through and fall to the ground below," the suit says. "Moreover, there were
no warnings in the area." 

Holly Neeb of Winter Haven, Fla., is suing the Lehigh-Northampton Airport
Authority, Schindler Elevator Co. of Dresher, Pa., E.R. Stuebner Inc.
Contractors of Reading and Breslin, Ridyard & Fadero Architects of
Allentown. She is seeking more than $100,000 and claims she suffered
emotional distress when she saw her son fall. 

According to the suit, Holly Neeb and her two children were at Lehigh Valley
International Airport because of a mechanical problem. They were on a flight
from Florida to Maine. 

The airport authority has filed a counterclaim against Holly Neeb, claiming
she was negligent for not supervising her child. The plaintiff says she
walked toward the escalator with her children when Riley Neeb touched the
escalator railing. 

Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority Executive Director George Doughty said,
"We've investigated the incident. No one really knows what happened. As far
as we are concerned, there was not an unsafe condition. We think the railing
is adequate. We have warning signs." 

Eric Weis, an attorney representing Schindler, said his client installed the
escalator and had nothing to do with the railing. Attorneys representing
Stuebner and Breslin, Ridyard & Fadero could not be reached for comment.


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