PITTSBURGH – Litigation has been settled in a lawsuit that claimed that negligence on the part of a gun store owner led to a woman being shot while shopping.
Patricia L. Havrilak of New Kensington first filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Nov. 23 versus Joseph C. Misczak (doing business as “Misczak’s Hunting Supplies”), of Lower Burrell.
“On May 29, 2020, plaintiff, accompanied by her fiancé, went to defendant Misczak’s store for plaintiff to purchase a handgun. After plaintiff completed the purchase, defendant Misczak and/or an employee, offered to show a 9mm handgun that was in the display case to plaintiff’s fiancé,” the suit stated.
“Just as plaintiff had completed her purchase, she walked away from the counter to another area of the store to take a call on her cell phone, while her fiancé was looking at the handgun that the store employee was showing to him. The store employee retrieved the handgun from the display case and handed it to plaintiff’s fiancé. Plaintiff’s fiancé, with the handgun pointed to the floor, immediately removed the magazine and/or clip from the handgun.”
Suddenly and without warning, the suit said, a live round that remained in the chamber fired, resulting in the bullet going through the plaintiff’s right lower extremity.
Havrilak allegedly suffered numerous injuries in the process, including open fractures of the right tibia and fibula, an anterior right tibial artery injury, deep vein thrombosis of the right deep femoral vein, a pulmonary embolism from the right lower leg deep vein thrombosis, overall deconditioning of her body and weight gain from her limited movement as a result of her injuries, serious and permanent scarring of the right lower extremity, shock to the nerves and nervous system and pain, swelling and limited mobility of the right lower extremity.
UPDATE
The defendant had not answered the complaint in the five months since its filing, nor had obtained legal counsel. However, on April 23, it was noted on the case’s docket that the case been settled.
“Kindly mark the above-captioned matter settled and discontinued,” read an applicable praecipe from plaintiff counsel Cindy Stine of Stine & Associates. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Prior to settlement and for a count of negligence, carelessness and recklessness, the plaintiff initially had been seeking damages in excess of the applicable arbitration limits of the Court, plus all compensatory damages, punitive damages, interest and costs.
The plaintiff was represented by Cindy Stine of Stine & Associates, in Greensburg.
The defendant did not secure legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-20-011962
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com