PITTSBURGH – A Pittsburgh couple insist that Allegheny General Hospital, its parking garage and one of its employees negligently allowed a parking gate arm to fall and strike the wife-plaintiff on the head, causing her severe injuries.
Alison Edfors and Eric Edfors first filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Feb. 1 versus Allegheny Health Network (also known as “Allegheny General Hospital” and “AHN Highmark Health), James Street Garage (also known as “Allegheny General Hospital – James Street Garage”) and John Doe. All parties are of Pittsburgh.
“On or about Feb. 8, 2021, plaintiff Alison Edfors drove her mother to an appointment at Allegheny General Hospital. She parked in the James Street Parking Garage. When she returned to the parking garage, her vehicle would not start. She then contacted AAA for road-side assistance. AAA personnel arrived and were unable to start her vehicle. The disabled vehicle could not be towed within the parking garage and had to be pushed outside of the parking garage onto the street so that the tow truck could secure and transport the vehicle,” the suit said.
“Plaintiff Alison Edfors advised parking lot attendant defendant John Doe that the vehicle needed to be pushed through the exit. Parking lot attendant John Doe provided the plaintiff with a ticket to lift the gate when they got to the exit. An AAA employee got into the driver’s seat of the vehicle while the other AAA employee began to push the vehicle toward the exit. When they reached the exit, the plaintiff attempted to use the ticket provided by the parking lot attendant, but it did not work. Plaintiff notified parking lot attendant defendant John Doe that the parking ticket did not work. Defendant John Doe advised the plaintiff that he could control the exit gate and would lift the arm so that the vehicle could be pushed through the exit.”
The suit added that as the AAA employees and plaintiff approached the gate to exit the parking garage, the parking lot attendant John Doe raised the gate.
“As the AAA employees and plaintiff Alison Edfors walked underneath the gate, plaintiff Alison Edfors was positioned behind the AAA employee pushing the vehicle. As she walked under the arm of the gate, suddenly and without warning the arm descended and hit her on the head causing her to fall to the ground and sustain serious injuries some of which are or may be permanent,” the suit stated.
“After reasonable and diligent investigation, plaintiffs are unable to positively identify the identity of the individual working in the parking garage which caused this incident. Therefore, plaintiff is including a count against John Doe, the unknown individual working in the parking garage. Plaintiff reserves the right to amend this complaint upon confirmation of the identity of the parking garage employee referenced throughout this complaint as John Doe.”
The plaintiffs averred that the defendants failed to follow a host of safety protocols that would have prevented the subject incident from taking place.
A May 3 stipulation resulted in the complaint’s list of defendants being amended to: Allegheny Health Network and West Penn Allegheny Health System, Inc. (doing business as “Allegheny General Hospital”).
The defendants filed an answer along with new matter in the case on May 5, which denied liability for the plaintiffs’ collective allegations.
“Plaintiffs’ claims are barred, in whole or in part, or diminished to the extent that they were contributorily and/or comparatively negligent. Plaintiffs have failed to state a claim against these defendants upon which relief can be granted. Plaintiffs’ claims are barred by the applicable statute of limitations. The alleged injuries and/or damages sustained by plaintiffs are not in any manner the result of the conduct, acts or omissions of these defendants. If plaintiffs incurred any injuries and/or damages as alleged in plaintiffs’ complaint in civil action, said damages or losses were incurred solely as the result of the superseding, intervening acts and conduct of others not in the control of these defendants thereby precluding plaintiffs from any recovery against this defendant,” per the answer.
“These defendants raise all affirmative defenses as set forth or available as a result of the provisions of the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Act. These defendants plead ‘payment’ as an affirmative defense to the extent that any amount less than the amount billed for medical services to plaintiffs after the alleged incident is accepted as payment in full. These defendants are not liable for any pre-existing medical or other conditions of the plaintiffs, which caused the claimed injuries and/or damages. Any injuries or damages sustained by plaintiffs are the sole, proximate and direct result of intervening and superseding causes not within the control of these defendants.”
The defendants added that the plaintiffs had failed to obtain the minimum essential health care coverage as required by the Affordable Care Act, and thus are barred from recovering any past, present or future medical damages.
UPDATE
The plaintiffs replied to the new matter on May 18 and denied its accuracy.
“The allegations set forth in Paragraphs 39-56 of defendant’s new matter are denied pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1029(e), as amended,” the reply stated.
For multiple counts of negligence and loss of consortium, the plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages in excess of the jurisdictional limits of compulsory arbitration.
The plaintiffs are represented by Michael D. Ferguson of Ferguson Law Associates, in Latrobe.
The defendants are represented by Brett C. Shear of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, in Pittsburgh.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-23-001570
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com