NEW HAVEN, Conn. (CN) - A woman says she suffered traumatic brain injuries and lost her sense of smell and taste after falling over backwards while "resting in the spirit" at a Catholic Charismatic Revival healing service. She sued the Hartford Diocese in Superior Court.
Dorothy Kubala says the accident happened while Fr. Robert Rousseau was "performing a healing service for members of the general public" at the St. Augustine Church in North Branford in January 2009.
Kubala says she "approached the altar, was prayed over, and 'Rested in the Spirit,' causing her to fall backwards and hit the floor with the back of her head."
She claims her injuries were caused by the priest's "failing to follow protocols, rules and procedures as outlined by defendants, the Hartford Archdiocese and St. Augustine Church."
Kubala says the priest should have had parishioners sit or kneel while he prayed over them, that that he "failed to provide a safe, soft surface for attendees, including the plaintiff, to fall to, if and when they fell or 'rested in the spirit.'"
She adds that the priest also failed to warn her "about the possibility of falling or 'resting in the sprit'," and says he "failed to choose 'Catchers' who were physically and mentally fit to exercise their duty.
Kubala says she fell over backwards and bonked her head, suffered injuries that include "traumatic brain injury that resulted in a permanent and total loss of smell ... and partial loss of taste," plus a hemorrhagic contusion, a concussion, injuries to her spine, pain in her jaw, and acute anxiety.
She seeks monetary damages. She is represented by John Cirello.
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