A 68-year-old woman who was struck in the head by a parking gate bar at Magee Women’s Hospital is suing the hospital.
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Shirley Reskovac was seriously injured when she was struck in the head in 2015 by the bar, according to her attorney, Timothy P. O'Brien. Reskovac said it was dark outside and she didn't see the gate coming down until she was hit.
"As she turned, the bar (comes) down and strikes her in the head and knocks her to the ground, and she suffered a fractured vertebrae," O'Brien said.
He filed a complaint Wednesday on Reskovac’s behalf against University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.
O’Brien said the parking lot is not safe because the gate comes down in the path of people who are walking near the hospital. He said he and his client filed the lawsuit because something needs to be done before the same thing happens to someone else.
He said the location of the bar is not the correct way to the entrance, but the parking lot design is flawed. Additionally, there is no signage or a warning when the gate goes up or down.
"As the video demonstrated, people regularly walk in the path of that bar. ...The pedestrian pathways actually funnel people toward that bar," he said. "(It's) the exact same lines that show you where to walk and where not to walk, so it's very confusing."
Channel 11 News did not find any records showing that it had happened to anyone else at Magee, but O'Brien said it has happened at other UPMC buildings.
"We do have information that in other parking lots, people have been struck by gate bars in lots operated by UPMC," he said.
Reskovac has undergone surgeries and has not fully recovered.
"After the surgery, she still experiences episodes of pain. She experiences limitations on activities that she was able to perform (previously) that she can't perform (now)," O'Brien said.
UPMC officials declined comment. Stay with Channel 11 News and WPXI.com for continuing coverage.
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