HOUSTON – A woman from Toronto is suing the City of Houston following her 94-year-old husband’s May death after he drove a scooter over unmarked stairs at Bush Intercontinental Airport, according to a lawsuit filed last week in Harris County.
“I thought it was all a dream. I was so stunned, I didn’t know how to react,” said Lorna Woods, the widow of the deceased man. “I wish it would go away, it was just a bad dream. Very sad, very sad. I’m still grieving.”
On May 6, Cyril Woods drove an electric scooter over the edge of unmarked stairs in the newly-renovated Terminal D, according to the lawsuit, which “were not marked with a sign, tape, paint or any other reasonable marker to warn people of the change in elevation.”
The fall caused head injuries for Cyril Woods, who was weeks away from his 95th birthday, while he was with his wife Lorna on a layover during a trip to Mexico.
“He was so happy that day, actually, very with it,” Lorna Woods said. “Good health, good sense of humor, very healthy person.”
If the stairs had differential coloring, the lawsuit alleges that the color of the tiles failed to adequately warn of stairs, while The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that stairs have a visual contrast on the top and bottom steps to prevent disabled people with low vision from falling.
Lorna Woods said her husband had just left the gate to get chocolates at an airport shop but never returned and instead, someone came looking for her and told her that her husband was on the ground bleeding.
He was using the electric scooter for assistance walking, as he had done for years while traveling, but died at a hospital in Kingwood on May 9, according to attorney Patrick O’Hara.
The fall happened in a hallway with only two steps, O’Hara said, raising questions about why there wasn’t a ramp.
“The issue is they put beauty over function,” personal injury attorney Patrick O’Hara said. “When you look at it, you don’t see stairs. You just see, oh, it’s a different color tile that’s got a darker brown. The second issue is, why have stairs anyway? It’s only two steps. Just make a slope a ramp. That’s what you expect in an airport ... The third one is that they have railing on the side. But the city thought it was a good idea to cover up with decorative trees three feet in.”
A photo from the scene shows the two steps had railings on each edge, which appear to be blocked by decorative plants.
O’Hara said his research revealed the scooter goes a maximum of 3.8 miles per hour.
“This man was not zipping along,” he said.
Cyril Woods spent several days in a neck brace at the hospital.
“He was in a lot of pain, because every time they moved him, he was crying,” Lorna Woods said.
She said she wishes she would’ve gone with him on that candy run in hopes that she could have saved him.
“I’m just so sorry this happened,” she said. “Most people don’t die from trips, from falls, but my husband had to pay that price. Something has to be done.”
The lawsuit also names Gilbane Building Company, Austin Commercial, and Turner & Townsend as defendants because the companies allegedly developed, constructed or managed the construction and remodel of Terminal D. KPRC 2 News has reached out to all parties for a response.
If the stairs had differential coloring, the lawsuit alleges that the color of the tiles failed to adequately warn of stairs, while The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that stairs have a visual contrast on the top and bottom steps to prevent disabled people with low vision from falling.
“The City of Houston extends its condolences to the Woods family for the tragic incident at IAH. The City has barred access where the incident occurred and continues to review all pathways at its airports to improve passenger access and safety. The City will seek to resolve the lawsuit filed by the estate,” Houston City Attorney Arturo Michel wrote in a statement to KPRC 2 News.
O’Hara said additional defendants could be added to the lawsuit as the investigation continues.