Mechanic sues employer for not doing enough to stop assault

A Philadelphia mechanic who claims he was rendered unconscious for days in the hospital

after being attacked by a man at his workplace has filed a personal injury claim against his employer, not the attacker, contending the defendant didn’t do enough to stop the assault on their worker.

Kozma Voja and his wife, Vangjeli, filed suit Dec. 7 at state court in Philadelphia against Keystone Vending Cart Co., which is located at 121 E. Wildey Street in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood.

The complaint alleges that Kozma Voja was left severely injured following an attack by a man identified in the suit as Rudolph Pohl, which occurred on May 14, 2011, at and near the defendant’s business.

Voja finished work for the day at about noon when he was accosted by Pohl, who first began defacing the plaintiff’s car, and then turned his attention to Voja himself, the lawsuit states.

The plaintiff was then physically assaulted by Pohl after Voja informed the man that the police would be called, the lawsuit states.

Voja was eventually able to run back to the garage where he works, and was met by owner Nasir Mirza, who accompanied Voja back to his car to look at the damage that had been done.

It was at this point that the two once again spotted Pohl, who proceeded to pick up a brick and throw it at Voja, according to the complaint.

Mirza and other pedestrians ran to the plaintiff’s aid, separating Pohl from Voja.

The act of separating the two men constituted a duty to protect the plaintiff in a non-negligent manner, the suit claims.

All parties eventually made their way back to the defendant’s garage, the suit goes on to state, where the attack on Voja continued, and included Pohl punching Voja in the face while running at “full stride.”

The punch caused Voja to fall to the ground and be knocked unconscious. The plaintiff also experienced profuse head bleeding, according to the lawsuit.

Voja was rushed to the emergency room where he spent the next 10 days either unconscious or semi-conscious, and he spent two weeks after that undergoing rehabilitation, the complaint states.

The complaint says that after seeing the destruction to Voja’s vehicle and observing Pohl’s “dangerous and criminal propensities,” the defendant knew or should have known that the plaintiff could not protect himself against Pohl.

The lawsuit states that the defendant was well aware that its business was located in a high crime area and that it should have done more to prevent Pohl from entering the premises.

The complaint says that as a result of the incident, Voja sustained injuries including, but not limited to, traumatic brain injury with residual headaches and cognitive impairment, blunt head trauma and right facial fractures, and psychological trauma.

The plaintiff also suffered from mental anguish, humiliation and embarrassment, the suit states, and Voja and his wife have had to spend large sums of money on medical care as a result of Voja’s injuries.

The lawsuit contains counts of negligently performing an assumed duty, negligence, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

There is also a loss of consortium count filed on behalf of Voja’s wife.

The plaintiffs seek judgment in excess of $50,000, plus interest and other court relief.

Pohl, the man who allegedly attacked Voja, was not named as a defendant in the complaint.

The plaintiffs are being represented by Philadelphia attorney John D. Pallante.

 

The case ID number is 121200855.