PITTSBURGH – Retail giant Walmart denies a Pittsburgh man’s claims that it is liable for injuries suffered when a battery power pack he purchased at the store exploded.
Peter Sisko of Pittsburgh filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Oct. 5 versus Walmart, Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, of Bentonville, Ark.
According to the litigation, Sisko purchased the battery pack, labeled as a “Battery Pack with Style 4000mah” at a Walmart location in Bethel Park.
“On June 26, 2019, plaintiff Peter Sisko had the aforementioned battery power pack in his pocket. Suddenly, and without warning, the battery power pack exploded, causing Sisko to sustain serious injuries and damages,” the suit states.
“The battery power pack was defective in that it could and did malfunction and/or fail under normal use, because it did not meet the reasonable expectations of an ordinary consumer and because the risk posed by its design and manufacture greatly exceeded the utility, if any, of its design. The battery power pack was further defective in that it failed to be properly labeled and/or have proper warnings.”
Sisko believes Walmart negligently designed and/or manufactured a battery power pack which was defective, having such a product manufactured for sale in a defective condition, selling a product in a defective condition and failing to warn users of the dangers of such a defective product, in addition to other allegedly negligent actions.
Subsequently, Sisko suffered burns to the lower extremity and buttocks requiring skin grafts, pain and suffering, necessity of medical treatment, loss of income, disfigurement, embarrassment and humiliation, incurring of medical bills and/or liens, inability to enjoy the ordinary pleasures of life and perform normal daily activities and other injuries and damages.
UPDATE
An answer to the complaint filed on July 16 saw Walmart deny that the battery power pack was defective and argue that it was not responsible for Sisko’s injuries.
“Plaintiff’s complaint fails to state a cause of action against Walmart upon which relief can be granted. Neither Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P., nor Walmart, Inc., designed, or manufactured the at issue battery power pack as referenced in plaintiff’s complaint. Upon information and belief, the battery power pack was manufactured and supplied to Walmart by Dongguan Kechenda Electronic Technology Co. Ltd., a Chinese manufacturer,” the answer’s new matter stated, in part.
“Plaintiff’s claims may be limited to, barred by, and subject to the Pennsylvania Comparative Negligence Act 42 Pa.C.S.A. Section 7102 et seq. and Walmart avers that the plaintiff’s own negligence is a bar to and/or in diminution of any claim against Walmart to the extent of said negligence or culpable conduct. These answering defendants plead the affirmative defenses of assumption of the risk, comparative negligence, and contributory negligence. Walmart sets forth any and all applicable statutes of limitations as a bar to any claim against it. Walmart denies that its conduct was in any fashion a proximate cause of plaintiff’s injuries or damages.”
Walmart’s counsel added its denial that the product in question had any inherent design defect, but if there existed any inherent design defect with respect to the product, such defect being expressly denied, such defect could not have been effectively eliminated without rendering the product incapable of reasonable use.
Walmart further averred that the at issue battery power pack was of merchantable quality, free of defects, and was reasonably fit for the purpose intended.
For counts of strict product liability and negligence, the plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of applicable arbitration limits exclusive of interest and costs, and a trial by jury.
The plaintiff is represented by Benjamin T. Wilt and Daniel S. Schiffman of Schiffman Firm, in Pittsburgh.
The defendants are represented by Rebecca Sember Izsak and G. Richard Murphy of Thomas Thomas & Hafer in Pittsburgh
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-20-010528
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com