Man Injured By PVC Pipe That Crashed Through Windshield

A personal injury suit has been filed against a construction company in Mascoutah, Illinois and one of its employees after a driver was injured by a PVC pipe that dislodged from a flatbed truck and crashed through his windshield last year.

According to Mark Ochoa, he was driving in his 2002 Mercedes Benz on May 25, 2007 as a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Kilian employee Robert Anstedt was traveling in the opposite direction.

In the suit he filed on October 8 in the St. Clair County, Illinois Circuit Court, Ochoa alleges that Anstedt was driving at a speed at which he “should have known that application of the brakes would cause the load of 4-inch PVC pipe to come off the flatbed and be launched into oncoming traffic."

According to Ochoa, he was struck in the head, face, neck, hand, and shoulder, among other body parts, by the pipe. He claims that he suffered various facial fractures and lost his sense of taste and smell. He seeks damages in excess of $300,000.