Trial Magazine

Edward Mangan, 49, was a manager at a utility company. While at a road construction site one day, he stood along an excavation trench where other workers were placing a gas line. Zachary Hofer, driving a tractor-trailer through the construction site, ran into a temporary traffic signal’s sagging tether wire. This caused one traffic pole to break in half and another to fall over. One of the poles struck Mangan and pinned him along a guardrail.

Mangan suffered a broken pelvis, a ruptured bladder, and a severe crush injury. He now suffers from chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder. His medical bills totaled approximately $380,000. He had earned over $102,100 annually but is unable to work now.

Mangan and his wife sued Leeward Construction, the job’s general contractor, alleging it negligently allowed the tether wire to remain in a sagging position despite several prior instances in which other trucks had hit it. The plaintiff also sued Northeast Signal & Electric Co., alleging it improperly installed the traffic signal, allowing the wire to sag.

Suit alleged that Hofer failed to see the sagging wire and to stop his vehicle before hitting it.

The defendants reportedly blamed one another for the incident.

The parties settled for $6.15 million. Leeward and Northeast Signal paid $3 million each, and Hofer paid the rest.

Citation: Mangan v. Northeast Signal & Elec. Co., No. 03808 of 2018 (Pa. Ct. Com. Pl. Luzerne Cnty. Aug. 20, 2019).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members William F. Anzalone, Jamie J. Anzalone, Kelly M. Ciravolo, and Patrick Doyle, all of Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Plaintiff expert: Sean Hanahue, vocational rehabilitation, Wilkes-Barre.