A Virginia couple is suing the USVI Port Authority and several contractors over a 2023 fall at Cyril E. King Airport that resulted in multiple surgeries, according reports from local press there.
Timothy Fadool of Amherst, Virginia, claims he suffered severe injuries after falling on a poorly maintained pathway while following directions to the Hertz rental car lot. The incident occurred in early August 2023, shortly after arriving on St. Thomas.
The lawsuit, as detailed by the VI Consortium, alleges Fadool was directed through a chain-link fence and up a grassy path without handrails by a uniformed individual. He fell backwards after his footwas caught on the fence, resulting in injuries requiring emergency treatment and eventually hip replacement surgery in March 2024.
Named defendants include VIPA, Hertz, Kimley Horn, AT Construction Solutions, and Universal Concrete. The lawsuit claims the area was in a “confusing and disorganized state” with inadequate signage and debris.
Fadool faces additional surgery in March 2025. His wife, Genevieve, is also seeking damages for loss of consortium due to her husband’s injuries. The couple claims that signage in the area was removed shortly after the incident, and that a Hertz manager subsequently apologized after Mrs. Fadool showed employees where her husband had fallen.