Filing: Woman Seeks $25,000 After Fall in Downtown Clayton

A St. Louis County woman is seeking more than $25,000 from the after falling on a sidewalk in downtown, a court document filed Sept. 22 states.

On April 8, Debra Finley parked her vehicle in a surface lot behind , 7800 Forsyth Blvd., walked through an alley and turned right onto the sidewalk when her toe caught on a raised concrete slab, said her attorney, Jennifer Finley. The two are unrelated.

She said that her client tried to break her fall with her right and left hand but that her face eventually made contact with the ground. A man who had been putting change into a meter helped Finley get up and escorted her into the bank, the attorney said, referencing a police report. She said it appears he then called the , which filed the report and took photos at the scene.

Finley was wearing lace-up leather athletic shoes at the time of the incident, said her attorney, referencing the police report.

A pumper vehicle and a ambulance responded, the attorney said. Finley declined to be treated and said she would seek medical attention on her own.

The fall fractured three of Finley's teeth, including her two upper incisors, the attorney said. She received eight stitches in her lip and had abrasions on her cheek and nose.

Finley was 59 at the time of the incident and has since turned 60, the attorney said. She works as a community health aide with the St. Louis City Department of Health.

She has paid more than $7,000 in medical bills resulting from the injuries and lost wages because of time spent off the job, the court filing states. Finley missed six days of work because of the injuries, her attorney said.

The document claims negligence and carelessness by the city directly caused or contributed to the injuries because the city knew about the uneven slabs and failed to remove them or warn pedestrians of their presence.

Jennifer Finley said both the city and St. Louis County denied the claim in response to demand letters she sent to both entities. Neither offered her client a sum of money.

The city received a summons in the case on Friday, the website Missouri Case.net states.

City Attorney Kevin O'Keefe said Tuesday morning that he was not familiar with the case.