PITTSBURGH - Penn Line Service Inc. is being sued for negligence by a man who said the company’s misconduct resulted in his leg having to be amputated.
Anthony Burgos filed a suit for negligence and strict products liability on July 12 in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
He also named Penn Line Construction Corporation, Penn Line corporation, township of Pine, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, John Does 1-10 and ABC Corporations 1-10.
Burgos was behind the wheel of a 2004 Nissan Maxima on his way home from a trip visiting family in North Carolina. His girlfriend, Carrie Wilson, was in the passenger seat with their two children in back seats, the suit says. During their trip, the car slid over black ice and spun out of control. It hit a guardrail that Burgos said was installed incorrectly, making the collision worse, the suit says.
"As a result of the double post installation, rather than diverting safely away from the vehicle after impact, the guardrail speared and drove through the passenger compartment of the Maxima, crushing Mr. Burgos’s right leg,” the lawsuit said.
Emergency responders had to remove him from the vehicle, and he was taken via air ambulance to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, the suit says.
Burgos blamed the defendants’ alleged misconduct for the permanent injuries he says he suffered, including the amputation of his right leg and hip and pelvis fractures.
He said that he has suffered and will continue to suffer severe and permanent injuries and will have to undergo ongoing medical treatment. He also said he’ll need continuous medical care as he experiences “severe physical pain, disability, mental anguish, embarrassment and humiliation, some or all of which are permanent in nature,” according to the lawsuit. He said he’s lost his job and his full ability to earn supplemental income in the future.