The parking lot of a Brooklyn Rite Aid is full of what appears to be patched-up potholes. One Brooklyn woman says that before they were patched up, one of the potholes caused her to fall and sustain serious injuries.  

Carol Bell says she walked to the Brownsville Rite Aid in July 2020, and when she left, she says she tripped over one of the potholes and “basically flew”, causing her to suffer a herniated disk.  

“The pain that I was in, it was to the point that I was crying every night,” says Bell.  

Bell is suing Rite Aid over the incident, and she says that it was only a few weeks after the fall that her doctors told her she would need surgery. 

Court documents show that the corporation’s defense denies that they are at fault for her fall or injuries. In part, the document reads that any injuries Bell suffered were caused by her own “carelessness, recklessness, negligence, and other culpable conduct."

Rite Aid has been in lawsuits over this specific property in the past. Court documents show that in November 2020, a woman fell in the same parking lot and also sustained serious injuries. 

Carol Bell’s attorney provided News 12 with what he says are the store’s compliance monthly safety checklist. In the document, every month aside form February, March, and June shows notes about the broken pavement.   

Her attorney also provided what he says is the store’s repair record for 2020, where no repairs were recorded.  

“They just want to make her wait and hope she gets desperate and take a small settlement,” said Bell’s attorney. 

Carol Bell and her lawyer did not share the exact dollar amount they’re suing for, but say they are looking for Bell to receive money for her surgery and future medical expenses as a result of the injury.