Defense Verdict in Case Involving Leaf Blower Injury
A Philadelphia jury has found in favor of equipment manufacturer Stihl in a products liability case filed by a man who claimed he suffered several strokes because a strap from a backpack-mounted leaf blower pinched his carotid artery.
November 21, 2019 at 02:04 PM
3 minute read
Pennington v. Stihl
Defense Verdict
Date of Verdict: Nov. 14.
Court and Case No.: C.P. Philadelphia No. 00473.
Judge: Marlene Lachman.
Type of Action: Products liability.
Injuries: Strokes.
Plaintiffs Counsel: Stewart Cohen and Jonathan Rubinstein, Cohen, Placitella & Roth, Philadelphia.
Defense Counsel: Justin Howard, Travis Gunn, McGuireWoods, Philadelphia; J. Michael Kunsch Sweeney & Sheehan, Philadelphia.
Comment:
A Philadelphia jury has found in favor of equipment manufacturer Stihl in a products liability case filed by a man who claimed he suffered several strokes because a strap from a backpack-mounted leaf blower pinched his carotid artery.
The 12-person jury handed up its verdict Nov. 14, concluding a trial that had started in late October.
According to plaintiff Gary Pennington's complaint, the design of the Stihl BR 600 Magnum leaf blower was defective.
Pennington's complaint included counts of negligence, breach of warranty, and two counts of strict liability.
"The equipment as designed, manufactured, sold, and distributed was defective because the shoulder straps were inadequate to safely use the equipment in that the materials used and/or the straps' position on the backpack and/or the backpack design itself place significant unsafe and dangerous forces on the neck which can, and in this instance, did occlude and dissect plaintiff's carotid artery," the complaint said.
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