Woman on way to dialysis treatment claims driver allowed chair to fall on her

A woman claims she incurred additional medical costs when a transportation service allowed a chair to fall on her arm.

Bernice Johnson filed a lawsuit Aug. 4 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Client First Medical Transportation.

In her complaint, Johnson alleges a driver for Client First Medical Transportation was bringing her for dialysis at DaVita in Belleville in the fall of 2012. The defendant's agent placed the plaintiff in her wheelchair on the driver's side in the back of the van, the suit states. When the van started moving a chair fell onto plaintiff's left arm where she had an arteriovenous dialysis shunt.

Due to the incident, Johnson suffered injury to her left arm and damage to the AV dialysis shunt, the complaint says. Because of this, Johnson was forced to endure additional surgeries and incurred medical costs, she claims.

Johnson seeks a judgment of more than $50,000, plus costs and other relief the court deems just. She is being represented by attorney James E. Parrot of St. Louis.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 14-L-577.