EDWARDSVILLE - A man suffered serious injuries after being catapulted off a lawnmower in an incident he claims was the fault of negligence of the retailer and manufacturer.
Charles Morgan, along with his wife, filed suit against Art's Lawn Mower Shop of Missouri and the John Deere Company, following the alleged incident involving the X739 Signature Series Lawn Mower.
The suit, filed April 3 in Madison County Circuit Court, claims the power take off (PTO) shaft was not installed properly, which allegedly led to the incident and injuries. Morgan is alleging negligence, strict product liability, and breach of warranty.
John Deere Company, headquartered in Moline, Ill., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The plaintiff alleges the lawn mower shop failed to train employees in how to properly install the deck on the machine, and that it was installed improperly, which put the PTO shaft in the wrong position. John Deere is accused of failing to properly design the machine to avoid accidents.
On May 15, 2018, Morgan was operating the lawn mower when the PTO shaft hit a concrete sidewalk, which caused the seat of the machine to "catapult upwards." The lawn mower abruptly stopped moving forward without any warning, according to the complaint.
"These extreme and sudden movements of the lawn mower caused plaintiff...to strike the steering wheel and to be thrown off the seat...with significant force and in a violent manner," the complaint states.
Morgan suffered serious bodily injury, the suit said. He had to pay medical costs and suffered lost earnings, it claims. At no point, the suit adds, was the plaintiff aware that the shaft was "mispositioned."
His wife, Stacey, is suing for loss of consortium, that is her husband's full love, guidance and protection.
The plaintiffs, who are seeking more than $50,000 in damages, are represented by Daniel W. Farroll of Goldenberg, Heller & Antognoli of Edwardsville.