RV shower door injures woman

A woman claims she sustained severe injuries after a glass shower door in an RV shattered on her arm.

Robin Max filed a lawsuit Dec. 14 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Monaco RV doing business as Holiday Rambler, Navistar International Corp., Frontline MFG and MCS Enterprises doing business as Tinker's Toys Dixie RV.

Max claims she attempted to open the glass shower door inside a Holiday Rambler recreational vehicle on Jan. 19, 2008, when the door shattered and caused severe lacerations to her hands and arms.

Because of the incident, Max underwent surgery to repair the injuries and physical therapy; became permanently scarred and disfigured; and suffers from fear, stress and anxiety, according to the complaint. In addition, she suffered from an impaired ability to work and to enjoy the ordinary pursuits of her life, incurred medical costs and lost wages, the suit states.

She blames Holiday Rambler, which David Pitvorec owned at the time of the incident, and Navistar, which sold and distributed the RV in question, for distributing an RV with a defective glass shower door and latch that remained in an unreasonably dangerous condition when sold.

Frontline, which sold and distributed the alleged dangerous shower, negligently defectively designed a glass door that could not withstand the stress of opening and closing, manufactured a shower door that failed to display adequate warnings, defectively designed the latch on the shower door so that a user had to exert excessive force to open the shower door, attached a glass towel rack to the door in an unreasonably dangerous manner and made a shower door without utilizing tempered glass, the complaint says.

MCS Enterprises, which negligently sold the Holiday Rambler to Pitvorec, should never have placed the trailer in the stream of commerce, according to the complaint.

In the eight-count suit, Max seeks a judgment of more than $400,000, plus pre-judgment interest and costs.

Jamie L. Brook and Andrew W. Callahan of Rossiter and Boock in St. Louis will be representing her.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number: 09-L-664.