A man has sued The Villages and a popular restaurant in Spanish Springs for “permanent physical injuries” he allegedly sustained after he slipped on a liquid and fell while exiting a booth.
Attorneys representing Larry Nickerson filed the lawsuit in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Lake County on July 16.
The lawsuit names The Villages Operating Company and Spanish Springs Restaurant Partners, LLC, which does business as Coastal Del Mar Seafood Grill, as defendants.
According to the complaint, Nickerson was visiting the restaurant at 990 Del Mar Drive in Spanish Springs on May 10, 2024.
Nickerson claims that, while he was “exiting his booth,” he slipped and fell on a “transitory foreign substance” that was near the booth. He allegedly sustained “multiple injuries” after falling from the booth, although none were specified in the complaint.
Nickerson’s attorneys accuse the restaurant of failing to “adequately keep its floors near the booths free from transitory foreign liquid substances and in safe conditions.” They say the restaurant “should have known” about the alleged substance and that it failed to “correct the unreasonably dangerous condition.”
The complaint states that Nickerson sustained “permanent physical injury and resulting pain and suffering, disability, scarring, disfigurement, mental pain and suffering, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, expense of hospitalization, medical [care], and nursing care and treatment,” reads a portion of the lawsuit.
It describes the losses as “permanent and continuing in nature.”
An initial disclosure filing that accompanied the complaint cited at least $7,285.24 in past medical expenses, including a visit to the UF Health Spanish Plaines Hospital Emergency Room that cost approximately $4,166.44.
Nickerson is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, exclusive of costs. He is represented by the Jacksonville-based Law Offices of Nooney, Roberts, Hewett & Nowicki.
Coastal Del Mar Seafood Grill opened in the former Farmshed restaurant space in 2023. The business is a part of the FMK Restaurant Group, the largest restaurant operator in The Villages.