Cyclist hit by armored van files suit against Loomis

A Philadelphia couple who claims the husband became physically injured after the bicycle on which he was riding was struck by a turning armored car has filed a lawsuit against the security agency that owned the vehicle.

Robert T. Lewis and Nikki Peters, a husband and wife from Philadelphia, are suing Loomis Armored U.S., LLC for injuries the husband, a medical doctor, claims to have sustained after a vehicle accident earlier this summer.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit, which was filed Oct. 13 at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas by attorneys Shanin Specter and Dominic C. Guerrini, of the city firm Kline & Specter, are Texas-based Loomis Armored U.S. and New Jersey resident Joshua Dillard, who is listed as the driver of the vehicle involved in the incident.

According to the complaint, Lewis was riding his bicycle in the eastbound bike lane on the 3400 block of Spruce Street in Center City, Philadelphia, back on July 22, when Dillard, who was also operating his armored vehicle eastbound along Spruce Street, suddenly made a right turn onto 34^th Street, directly into the lane of travel of Lewis.

The suit claims that Lewis, who had the right-of-way at the time, was knocked off of his bike, became trapped under the armored car, and was then dragged down the street by the vehicle.

As a result of the accident, Lewis sustained lower left leg injuries, including the development of necrotic tissue in the leg, the suit claims. He also suffered physical pain, mental anguish, humiliation, disfigurement, embarrassment, loss of past and future earnings and emotional pain.

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of negligence for failing to yield upon spotting Lewis, failing to maintain proper control of a vehicle, failing to recognize that Lewis had the right-of-way, failing to come to an immediate stop after striking Lewis, operating a motor vehicle in a careless and unsafe manner, and operating a motor vehicle without due regard for the rights, safety and position of Lewis.

The lawsuit claims that Lewis, who is chief surgical resident at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, has been unable to attend to his daily affairs related to his occupation.

Lewis and his wife demand judgment against the defendants in an amount in excess of the arbitrational limits, or $50,000 in common pleas court, plus other legal and equitable relief.

Peters also has a loss of consortium claim in the suit in which she, too, seeks a separate judgment in excess of $50,000. Through her claim, Peters alleges that the accident has deprived her of her husband’s companionship.

A jury trial has been demanded.

The case number is 111001603.