WILKES-BARRE
- A Luzerne County jury has awarded $3,258,500 to a Mount
Pocono auto mechanic who stepped into an open trench beneath
a hydraulic lift and broke his right leg, ankle and foot.
The
jury on Thursday found that the lift was defective because
it exposed auto mechanics to an open hole and was a factual
cause in bringing about the injuries to Paul Mancini, of 33
Reeder St.
The
lift was designed, manufactured and sold by defendants Rotary
Lift and its parent company, Dover Industries.
Mancini
was a mechanic at Midas Auto Service, Mount Pocono. He used
the lift on June 24, 1999, to raise the "super cab" truck
of Michael Sup, of Tobyhanna.
Mancini
testified he had used the lift twice, most recently about
a month before the accident.
According
to the complaint, he was under the truck and was explaining
to Sup what work had to be done. He took two or three steps
before his leg disappeared into the hole.
Plaintiff's
attorney Bob Powell said the award was sought under "strict
liability" claims and not because of negligence.
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He
said, "We got their risk manager to admit the lift, if used
properly and extended to accommodate vehicles of heavier weight
or length, created an open trench. After a blistering cross-examination,
he admitted they [defendants] knew the hole was there and was
a hazard. He also admitted the hazard was a defect and wasn't
covered in the operating instructions or equipment manual."
Powell
said Mancini was "out three years and had three surgeries. He
was told he is facing ankle fusion at some point in the future."
Additionally,
Powell said one of the defendant's vocational experts said,
"Mancini should be doing full-time work at $14.65 an hour. He
admitted he had no basis for that."
The
verdict included awards of $900,000 for pain and suffering,
$900,000 for loss of the enjoyments of life, $800,000 for future
loss of earning capacity, $325,000 for future medical expenses,
$100,000 for disfigurement, $100,000 for embarrassment and humiliation,
$98,500 for past wage loss and $35,000 for past medical expenses.
Judge
Mark Ciavarella presided over the four-day trial at Penn Place.
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