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Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Penis Injury in Farming Accident Nets $750,000 Jury Verdict
Pennsylvania Prisoner's Penis Injury in Farming Accident Nets $750,000 Jury Verdict
A Pennsylvania prisoner who sustained penis and groin injuries in a farming accident was awarded $750,000.
Mr. Hilliard was working on the prison farm while confined at Graterford State Prison in Pennsylvania. Hilliard operated a forage machine, which is a box, pulled behind a tractor. A power take-off shaft (a long, round, pipe-like piece of equipment, three or four feet in length), transfers power from a tractor to the forage box, which, in turn, blows hay into the silo.
Guards ordered Hilliard "to work in a small area near the opening of the spinning shaft." The shield had been removed form the power take-off shaft by prison officials. Hilliard was bending and shoveling hay which was blown onto the ground during unloading. The back of his pants got caught in the spinning part of the power take-off, and Hilliard "twisted and fell forward into the machine, sustaining lacerations to his groin and penis."
Hilliard sued the machine manufacturer and prison officials in state court. Although he suffered "no structural damage," Hilliard "claimed that he was unable to ejaculate during sexual intercourse, affecting his relationship with his wife." He also claimed that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder related to the accident. On July 16, 1993, a jury found prison officials 100 percent negligent and awarded Hilliard $750,000. See: Hilliard v. GEHL Co., Montgomery County Commonwealth Court, Case No. 91-14206.
A Pennsylvania prisoner who sustained penis and groin injuries in a farming accident was awarded $750,000.
Mr. Hilliard was working on the prison farm while confined at Graterford State Prison in Pennsylvania. Hilliard operated a forage machine, which is a box, pulled behind a tractor. A power take-off shaft (a long, round, pipe-like piece of equipment, three or four feet in length), transfers power from a tractor to the forage box, which, in turn, blows hay into the silo.
Guards ordered Hilliard "to work in a small area near the opening of the spinning shaft." The shield had been removed form the power take-off shaft by prison officials. Hilliard was bending and shoveling hay which was blown onto the ground during unloading. The back of his pants got caught in the spinning part of the power take-off, and Hilliard "twisted and fell forward into the machine, sustaining lacerations to his groin and penis."
Hilliard sued the machine manufacturer and prison officials in state court. Although he suffered "no structural damage," Hilliard "claimed that he was unable to ejaculate during sexual intercourse, affecting his relationship with his wife." He also claimed that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder related to the accident. On July 16, 1993, a jury found prison officials 100 percent negligent and awarded Hilliard $750,000. See: Hilliard v. GEHL Co., Montgomery County Commonwealth Court, Case No. 91-14206.
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Related legal case
Hilliard v. GEHL Co.
| Year | 1993 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Montgomery Cty Commonwealth Ct., Case No. 91-14206 |
| Level | State Trial Court |
| Conclusion | Jury Verdict |
| Damages | 750,000.00 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |