A Penn State student is suing the owners of a Bellaire Avenue apartment complex where he fell 16 feet to the ground after a balcony railing he was leaning against gave way.

Cory Wincek's attorney, Shanin Specter, said he filed a lawsuit July 20 claiming the injuries Wincek sustained after the fall were the direct result of negligence by the companies Keystone Real Estate Group and The Apartment Store Real Estate Group. The groups own University Terrace Apartments, 924 Bellaire Ave., where Wincek, 21, fell March 31. He remains paralyzed from the waist down.

The complaint filed by Specter claims Wincek was "catastrophically injured" because the "unstable railing was dangerous, defective and constituted an unsafe condition."

The complaint said it is the responsibility of the defendants to maintain the railing and that they failed to do so. It also claims the companies knew the railing was defective and ignored the problem.

"Defendants knew, and willfully and recklessly disregarded the fact that the railings were unstable, unsteady, dangerous and hazardous to tenants of the apartment such as Cory Wincek," the complaint states.

Keystone Real Estate Group and The Apartment Store Real Estate Group have not yet filed a response to the complaint.

Both companies could not be reached for comment last night.

Specter said Wincek is suing for medical bills, his potential loss of earning capacity, future medical bills, pain and suffering and loss of the pleasures of life.

The complaint demands the ruling against the defendants be in excess of $50,000.

The complaint also asks for a jury trial for the case.

Wincek was released from the McGee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia to his State College home three days ago, Specter said.

He added that Wincek's rehabilitation is on hold until he can undergo minor surgery and continue recovering. Wincek hopes to begin taking classes again at Penn State in the fall, he said.

The suit was filed in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas.