PITTSBURGH – A state court lawsuit that claimed the errant movement of a metal cart in a Shop ‘N Save supermarket was the direct cause of a plaintiff’s severe knee injuries that required surgery was settled.
On Dec. 7, an attorney for plaintiffs Nicole M. Lauricia and Lukas Lauricia filed a praecipe to mark the lawsuit settled, discontinued and ended. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
The Lauricias, of New Kensington, first filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Feb. 6, 2018, versus Hartley Foods Corporation (doing business as “Shop ‘N Save”), of Pittsburgh.
The suit stated that on March 25, 2016, Nicole was in the Pittsburgh-based supermarket looking at popcorn on the store aisle’s display shelves, when a metal cart being pushed by a store employee passed by and hit her in the back of the legs. Additionally, the suit said the cart contained large crates of drinks that allegedly fell off the cart and struck the plaintiff. As a result, Nicole twisted her left knee and suffered a resulting number of serious injuries.
Per the litigation, Nicole suffered a left knee injury requiring multiple surgeries which included the insertion and removal of hardware, external surgical scarring of her left knee, shock and attendant nervous disorder and post-traumatic arthritis and/or a pre-disposition thereto in the process.
The plaintiffs charged that the defendant irresponsibly brought the cart with unsecured metal crates into an area where customers would be shopping, failed to warn the plaintiff of the cart’s presence in the aisle and acted with reckless disregard for the plaintiff’s safety, in addition to other claims.
Prior to settlement and for counts of negligence and loss of consortium, the plaintiffs were seeking damages in excess of the jurisdictional limits of the Court for arbitration, plus costs, interest and a trial by jury.
The plaintiffs were represented by Jessica L. Rafferty of Quatrini Rafferty, in Greensburg.
The defendant was represented by Christopher T. Yoskosky of Zimmer Kunz, in Pittsburgh.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-18-001792
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com