Suit Filed after Deadly Cambria County, PA, Fire Blamed on Prosthetic Arm
The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
(TNS)
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Survivors of a deadly 2023 house fire in Westmont Borough filed a civil suit Thursday in Allegheny County court against several companies they say are responsible for the blaze.
The lawsuit was filed by Philadelphia law firm Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky on behalf of Katherine Jeanjaquet-Kohan – individually and as administratrix for her deceased children Vindemiatrix Kohan and Grant Jeanjaquet – and of Hailey Jeanjaquet, Tyler Skovensky and a minor child.
According to court documents, the lawsuit was brought against defendants Liberating Technologies Inc.; College Park; Coapt LLC; Oticon Inc.; Ossur Americas Inc.; Union Orthotics & Prosthetics Co.; De La Torre Orthotics & Prosthetics Co.; Thunder Power RC; Advance Energy Inc.; and four John Does.
The family's lawsuit blames a myoelectric arm, known as a Boston Digital arm, and its lithium batteries for the blaze.
"The defendants knew or should have known that the subject myoelectric arm and/or its component parts including the battery and battery management system were defective, dangerous and unsafe," the 174-page complaint said.
Skovensky was fitted for the prosthetic after a 2018 work accident and had owned the myoelectric arm since April 2019.
The suit alleges that the arm and component parts were manufactured, distributed, sold and supplied by the defendants and that Skovensky would "receive repairs, maintenance, service and fitting" for the arm from the defendants at both a Pittsburgh location and a Johnstown location.
Skovensky allegedly plugged the arm in to charge in a first-floor home office on the evening of July 25, 2023, before going to bed, and the prosthetic and/or component parts caught fire hours later, according to court documents.
The fire broke out around 2:30 a.m. July 26, 2023, at the home on the 200 block of Fayette Street in Old Westmont. At the time, Grant Jeanjaquet, 22, was asleep on the first floor, while the rest of the family was on the second floor.
According to the suit, when the fire was noticed, Hailey Jeanjaquet, her younger sibling, Skovensky and the family dog were able to exit the home through a window, but were trapped on a porch roof until emergency crews arrived.
Firefighters rescued Jeanjaquet-Kohan from the second floor, and found Kohan, 14, unresponsive on the same floor and extracted her.
Grant Jeanjaquet was found trapped between a couch and an exterior wall. He died at the scene, according to court documents, and Kohan died from her injuries July 29, 2023, at a Pittsburgh hospital.
The lawsuit alleges the fire was caused by a defect related to the myoelectric arm, "including but not limited to the design, manufacture, warnings and/or information" provided with the product.
As a result of the incident, the survivors have "suffered serious, disabling and permanent personal injuries," court documents said. The lawsuit demands a jury trial and the plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages in excess of $50,000 from each defendant.
Since the filing Thursday, the defendants have not responded, the Allegheny County court system shows.
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