Pedestrian struck by trash truck sues waste hauling company and driver

A Bucks County, Pa. man who claims he was struck by a trash truck while he was walking along the side of a road in suburban Philadelphia is suing the company that owns the trash truck and the driver who was operating the vehicle at the time.

Holland, Pa. attorney Steven E. Wolfe filed the personal injury claim Aug. 31 at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Brandon Szymborski of Trevose, Pa.

The defendants listed in the suit are Houston, TX-based Waste Management, Inc., Bristol, Pa.-based Waste Management of Pennsylvania, Inc., and Philadelphia resident Steven Nichols.

According to the complaint, Szymborski was walking along the shoulder of northbound New Rodgers Road near Trenton Road in Levittown, Pa. on Jan. 25, 2010 at about 6:25 in the morning, when he was suddenly struck by the 2007 Mack trash truck driven by Nichols.

The vehicle had been traveling in the same direction that the plaintiff was walking at the time of the incident.

As a result of being struck, Szymborski had to undergo multiple hospitalizations for treatment of a wide array of physical injuries, including multiple bruises, contusions, abrasions and lacerations; traumatic brain injuries; closed head trauma; severe and chronic headaches; traumatic seizure disorders; intracranial hemorrhages; traumatic bilateral frontoparietal hygromas; multiple traumatic subdural hematomas requiring surgical evacuation; loss of cognitive function; right cerebral hemisphere dysfunction; confusion and memory loss; loss of concentration; sleep disruption; impaired motor function; cervical, thoracic and lumbosacral strains and sprains; traumatically induced anxiety and depression; and shock to the body and nervous system, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of carelessness and negligence for operating a motor vehicle in an unsafe manner, failing to yield to pedestrians, failing to keep a proper lookout while operating a motor vehicle, and failing to properly train Nichols, the driver, in the “safe and correct manner of operating a trash truck.”

“As a result of the defendants’ carelessness and negligence plaintiff has suffered, and will in the future continue to suffer mental, physical and emotional pain, distress and suffering,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit also states that Szymborski has suffered cosmetic disfigurement, as well as embarrassment and humiliation.

Szymborski is seeking judgment against the defendants, jointly and individually, in an amount exceeding $50,000, plus interest and the costs of the lawsuit.

A jury trial has been demanded.

The case number is 110804408.