TACOMA, Wash. (CN) – A sign language interpreter assisting a Kaiser physical therapy patient claims she was injured when a large exercise ball hit her on the back of the head, according to a suit filed in U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington.

Penny Allen sues Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington, individually and as successor-in-interest to Group Health of Washington, for general and actual damages and for the cost of the suit.

Allen says she was working as an independent contractor providing sign language interpretation for a physical therapy patient at the Kaiser Silverdale Medical Center in Silverdale, Washington, when a large unsecured exercise ball rolled off a shelf and hit her on the back of the head. Allen needed surgery for the injuries to her neck and has emotional trauma as a result of the incident, she says in the action, as she continues to be in pain and in treatment. Allen has been unable to work and believes she will continue to lose income in the future, according to the suit. 

The physical therapy equipment was not secured on the shelf storage unit and there were no warnings posted of the dangerous condition, Allen claims.

Allen is represented by Kevin P. Smith of Defiance Law PLLC, in Tacoma, Washington.