A parent of a GW alumna is suing the University for negligence after she fell down crumbling stairs on GW property and was injured.

Rosa Sclafani fell down a set of stairs and was injured while helping her daughter move into Strong Hall in 2013, according to a suit in the D.C. Superior Court this month. Sclafani is seeking $450,000 to cover expenses from the “serious, permanent and painful personal injuries” she sustained in the accident, according to the complaint.

The outside steps of Strong Hall were crumbled and uneven, and the stairs did not have a handrail, which led Sclafani to fall, according to the complaint. The residence hall houses members of the Pi Beta Phi and Chi Omega sororities.

Philip Kuljurgis, Sclafani’s lawyer, said in an email that Sclafani suffered from a “very serious” closed fracture on her right ankle and and was transported to a hospital by ambulance. She has been receiving treatment since the initial injury and had a surgery in January 2014, he said.

“Her injury is a permanent one, and her right ankle will never be the same.” Kuljurgis said in an email.

University spokeswoman Maralee Csellar declined to comment on the case, citing University policy not to comment on pending litigation. Sclafani declined to comment on the case.

When Sclafani fell, there had been a ramp up the middle of the stairway to assist people during move-in. The ramp covered a crumbled and uneven set of steps, which prevented Sclafani from noticing the steps’ condition before she stepped on them, according to the complaint.

“In this way, the University’s actions concealed the crumbling and uneven condition of the steps from Plaintiff and others,” according to the complaint.

Sclafani notified the University about her injuries immediately after the incident, according to her lawyer. Kuljurgis added that he and Sclafani attempted to settle the case with the University before taking it to court.

Kuljurgis added that the dollar amount she is demanding in the complaint document is not reflective of the money requested in settlement negotiations. People filing lawsuits in the D.C. Superior Court are required to list a dollar amount in complaints and the numbers demanded do not always match up with the amount a jury generally decides to award a person, he said.