LAPORTE, Pa., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania court awarded $5 million to a man who was paralyzed when two of his relatives tipped over a portable toilet while he was using it.
The two relatives, as well as the manufacturer and installer of the outhouse, agreed to the settlement, which was approved in Sullivan County Court of Common Pleas.
The daily law journal Legal Intelligencer said the mishap occurred during a fishing trip to a lodge that did not have indoor plumbing. Donald Adams was basically locked into the small structure when his two cousins-in-law backed a pickup truck against the door and then began rocking the toilet, causing it to fall over.
Adams broke his neck and was left a quadriplegic. An expert witness in the case said Adams faced lifetime medical expenses of more than $6 million.
The Intelligencer said the plaintiffs alleged negligence against the installer because the toilet had been installed on a hillside and not adequately anchored.
The manufacturer, Poly-San, was accused of designing the portable toilet to be top-heavy and without enough weight at the bottom to help prevent it from tipping.
