PHILADELPHIA – A Morgantown couple are seeking damages from a tree stand manufacturer after an allegedly defective stand failed and caused the husband to fall 20 feet from a tree.
John McPeak and Robin McPeak filed a complaint on Aug. 19 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Direct Outdoor Products LLC alleging strict liability, negligent design and manufacture, negligent failure to warn and other counts.
According to the complaint, John McPeak purchased a Marksman hunting stand manufactured by the defendant in 2014 and used it every year through 2018. The suit states the plaintiff was using the stand on Oct. 17, 2018, when the support cable broke without warning, causing the plaintiff to fall 20 feet from the stand and suffer permanent damages. The suit states plaintiff suffered herniated discs and a fracture of his vertebrae and had to undergo foot surgery.
The plaintiffs allege the tree stand was defective.
The plaintiffs are seeking all reasonable sums due, attorney fees and court costs. They are represented by Tobias L. Millrood of Pogust Millrood LLC in Conshohocken and Timothy W. Monsees and Phillip R. Martens of Kansas City, Missouri.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case number 5:19-CV-03719