Driver who lost legs in crush settles for $ 10M

A Mercer truck driver who lost both of his legs when they were crushed by one of eight 5,000- pound pipes he was delivering to a Duquesne company settled his lawsuit last week for $ 10.6 million.

Robert Ryder, who was 53 at the time of the accident, sued Dura- Bond Coating, on North Linden Street, in 2015 for negligence and negligent hiring, retention, training and supervision.

According to his lawsuit, filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, Mr. Ryder was transporting eight 24- inch pipes to the company on Dec. 24, 2013.

A short- haul truck driver since 1988, Mr. Ryder, who worked for Yourga Trucking Inc., had arrived in Camden, N. J., the day before to pick up the pipes.

They were loaded in two rows of four, with wooden separators between the rows and then strapped down, said his attorney, Dominic Guerrini.

When Mr. Ryder arrived at Dura- Bond, the attorney said, an employee there was supposed to have inspected the cargo — to ensure it was stable and centered — before allowing the truck onto the property. If it was not, he said, the load was to have been rejected.

“It appears this truck never was inspected,” Mr. Guerrini said.

Instead, a Dura- Bond employee nailed chocks to the edges of wood separator boards between the pipes. Then, the attorney said, the employee didn’t require Mr. Ryder to move during the unloading process.

While the pipes were being unloaded with a Pettibone CaryLift, one dislodged, fell off the trailer bed, knocked Mr. Ryder to the ground and pinned his legs under the pipe.

Mr. Ryder suffered a traumatic partial amputation of one leg and surgical amputation of his other leg.

He has not been able to work since the accident, his attorney said. Mr. Ryder has five

children and has spent the past several years working on rehabilitation, trying out new prosthetics and volunteering at a local restaurant, Mr. Guerrini said.

In his lawsuit, Mr. Ryder alleged that Dura- Bond and its employees failed to follow proper safety procedures in unloading the pipes, including using a spotter and ensuring that the pipes were properly secured before unloading. In addition, the complaint alleged that Dura- Bond should have ensured that Mr. Ryder was in a safe location prior to unloading.

In its answer to the original lawsuit, Dura- Bond’s attorneys argued that Mr. Ryder was at fault for his own injuries for failing to follow the policies and procedures in place at the facility for loading and unloading pipes and equipment, and for failing to pay attention to his surroundings.

Attorney L. John Argento, who represented Dura- Bond, did not return a call seeking comment.

The settlement was reached last week in the middle of depositions, Mr. Guerrini said.

“It quickly became apparent Dura- Bond had made all these mistakes,” he said.

The dollar amount was derived from not only the injuries Mr. Ryder suffered — and the difficulties he faces as a double amputee, his attorney said — but also by considering his future earning potential.

Typically, settlements include a confidentiality agreement that prohibit the parties from talking about them, but not in this case, Mr. Guerrini said.

“A lot of bad conditions have been hidden by confidentiality agreements,” he said. “We want people to understand what happened here, and how Dura- Bond practices need to be changed.”