Bucks County, Pa. worker injured on the job sues Greenlee Textron

A suburban Philadelphia man who claims he became seriously injured after getting struck in the face by a cable-pulling machine at work is suing the product’s manufacturer in state court.

Jenkintown, Pa. attorney Marc A. Weinberg, of the firm Saffren & Weinberg, filed the product liability lawsuit Oct. 7 at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Morrisville, Pa. resident Michael E. Lucuski.

The defendant named in the lawsuit is Greenlee Textron, Inc., a division of Textron, Inc., based in Genoa, IL.

According to the complaint, Lucuski, who was employed by Armour Sons and Electric in Langhorne, Pa., was using one of the defendant’s machines while at work on Oct. 13, 2009, when he became injured after the machine “suddenly and without warning caused the appurtenant cables to tighten and dislodge and struck Plaintiff in the face, lifting him into the air and causing Plaintiff to fall to the ground.”

The lawsuit claims that the plaintiff, at the time of the incident, believed he was operating the piece of machinery in a safe manner, and that he was not aware of any hazards associated with the device.

“Defendant directly, or indirectly, negligently and defectively designed, manufactured, distributed, marketed, advertised, sold, supplied and otherwise placed into the stream of commerce the subject machine,” the lawsuit states. “At all times relevant hereto, Defendant knew or should have known that the subject machine(s) was not safe for its intended use.”

The lawsuit accuses the defendant of negligence for failing to properly inspect and service its product, failing to correct and/or monitor the defective and/or hazardous conditions which they caused or of which they were aware of or should have been aware, failing to warn users of the defective and hazardous conditions related to the machine, failing to maintain the equipment in a safe condition and failing to properly supervise their employees and/or agents.

The lawsuit claims that Lucuski sustained seizures, facial lacerations, abdomen pain and nausea, post-traumatic stress disorder, vertigo, post-concussive syndrome, trauma to his face, back, neck and extremities, and other unspecified internal injuries.

Lucuski has had to spend large sums of money on medical attention, the suit claims, and he has been unable to work since the job-site incident.

For the negligence claim, Lucuski demands judgment against the defendant in a sum in excess of $50,000, plus interest and related court costs.

The lawsuit also contains a strict products liability claim in which the plaintiff alleges that the defendant failed to warn licensees and users of the machine of the dangerous and defective condition, failing to provide a safety guard so as to prevent injury, failing to provide adequate instructions, and failing to include safety features in the machine such as a kill switch.

Additionally, the lawsuit contains a breach of warranty count. For the latter two counts, the plaintiff also seeks $50,000 plus related costs.

The case number is 111000824.