PITTSBURGH – A customer at an auto body repair shop in Verona says he sustained knee and back injuries when he jumped out of the way of fireworks one of the shop’s mechanics ignited near his head, believing he was being shot at.
Antione Hunter of Allegheny County filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on July 14 versus Monro, Inc. (doing business as “Monro Auto Service and Tire Centers”) of Rochester, N.Y.
“On Aug. 10, 2019, plaintiff was lawfully on the referenced premises as a business invitee of the Monro Auto Service and Tire Centers, specifically the one located at 60 Allegheny River Boulevard, Verona, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, for the purposes of having work done on his two motor vehicle. Matthew Waterson was an employee of the defendant and present on the premises at that time as an employee. At that time, plaintiff was in the repair/lift area and discussing his vehicle with the mechanic assigned to his car,” the suit states.
“While talking to the mechanic, who was working on one of plaintiff’s cars in the garage lift area, another mechanic/employee of the defendant, namely Waterson, suddenly and without warning, ignited and caused to go off, certain explosives and/or firecrackers in the vicinity of plaintiff’s head. At that time, plaintiff was under the impression that he was being shot at when hearing a loud noise which sounded like gunfire.”
At the time of the subject incident, Waterson did in fact have a gun in his possession, which was allegedly known to other employees and personnel of the defendant. The plaintiff alleges Waterson took ownership of the gun from another employee and spoke with other employees about shooting someone at the time of the incident.
“Plaintiff, as a result of having firecrackers thrown at him, attempted to jump out of the way and/or due to being startled by the sudden and unexpected noises and the attack directed towards his person, jumped out of the way and became injured as a result of the sudden, unexpected and reflexive movement to said noises. The situation was further exacerbated by other agents/employees of Monro laughing as a result of this incident,” the suit claims.
Subsequently, the plaintiff suffered a torn medial meniscus in his left knee and a back injury, in addition to post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from the incident, the suit claims.
For a count of negligence, the plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of the jurisdictional limits of compulsory arbitration, plus court costs, interest and such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and equitable.
The plaintiff is represented by Stephen H. Lebovitz of Lebovitz & Lebovitz, in Pittsburgh.
The defendant has not yet secured legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-20-007602
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com