The Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas, USVI. Photo Credit: ERNICE GILBERT, V.I. CONSORTIUM
The V.I. Port Authority and one of its tenants at the Cyril E. King Airport are defending themselves against claims of negligence, after a man said an unsafe construction area with poor signage caused his fall in 2023.
According to court documents, Timothy and Genevieve Fadool, a couple from Amherst, Virginia, arrived in the Virgin Islands in early August of 2023, landing at the Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas. They presented themselves at the Hertz counter, and Mr. Fadool says he was told to follow the signs to the rental car lot.
According to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, “the Premises and construction was in a confusing and disorganized state with a broken down chain-linked fence and other debris littered about the Premises where Plaintiff was directed to walk.” Additionally, Mr. Fadool claims that the Hertz representative gave unclear directions, “causing Plaintiff to get turned around and lost.” An unnamed “man in uniform” reportedly “directed Plaintiff through a chain-linked fence and up a grassy path with no handrails,” the lawsuit claims.
Mr. Fadool says while walking up the pathway, he stopped to catch his breath and stepped back. As he did so, his foot reportedly snagged on the end of the chain-link fence and he fell backwards, hitting his head as he tumbled down the path. The fall left Mr. Fadool dazed, in pain, and bleeding from his head, arms and legs, the lawsuit claims. The injured man was taken to the emergency room by ambulance, treated and released.
A day or two later, the Fadools returned to the airport to pick up their daughter. They reportedly noticed that the signage they had been directed to follow had been removed. The lawsuit also claims that the manager of Hertz called to apologize after Mrs. Fadool showed an employee where her husband had fallen.
The injuries suffered by Mr. Fadool were severe enough to require him to undergo hip-replacement surgery in March 2024, “with another surgery scheduled in March 2025,” the lawsuit claims. Medical and rehabilitation expenses continue to add up, as do the losses of earnings and wages, Mr. Fadool's lawyers say, “the full extent of which is yet to be determined and some or all of which may be permanent in nature.”
The Fadools name VIPA, and Hertz as defendants in their lawsuit, as well as Kimley Horn, AT Construction Solutions, and Universal Concrete - all “conducting business” at the airport at the time of the incident – accusing them of negligence. Mrs. Fadool is also holding them liable for loss of consortium — the deprivation of companionship, support, and intimacy in a spousal relationship — as a result of her husband's injuries.
The Fadools are seeking a jury trial in this matter,and hoping to be awarded compensatory damages, interest, and legal costs. As of press time, VIPA has not yet responded to the filing.
