PHILADELPHIA – A man who claims to have been shot by his fireworks setup in the left eye from more than 40 feet away is suing the company that sold the product.
Eric Harper of New York filed the lawsuit April 27 in Philadelphia federal court against four related Sky King Fireworks companies, one of which is located in Tioga. Also sued is 3D Pyro, a fireworks manufacturer.
Harper’s complaint tells a story of an accident with a reloadable mortar in May 2018. He says the motor tube was not properly attached to the base, resulting in a separation at the worst possible moment.
After setting the mortar up, Harper “then proceeded to load an artillery shell into the reloadable mortar, ignited the artillery shell and walked more than 40 feet away from the mortar,” the lawsuit says.
“Mr. Harper suddenly and unexpectedly experienced the onset of severe pain in his left eye due to being violently struck with an artillery shell.”
The mortar tube had become separated and took aim at Harper’s face, the lawsuit claims. He had to undergo eye surgery but says he underwent left evisceration, in which the cornea and contents of the eye are removed.
Left behind is the white part of the eye and eye muscles. Blinded by the accident in the eye, he also says it has caused him post-traumatic stress disorder.
He is represented by Feldman Shepherd of Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case number 2:20-cv-02031