POCAHONTAS, Ark. (Legal Newsline) - Toro faces a wrongful death lawsuit that said its zero-turn mower should have stopped moving forward when a 66-year-old woman became caught in low-hanging tree branches.
Carlos LoPopolo, as the special administrator of the estate of Pamela LoPopolo, filed a lawsuit June 10 against The Toro Company in the Circuit Court of Randolph County, Arkansas.
The case centers on allegations that a defect in a Toro TimeCutter Zero Turn riding mower led to the death of Mrs. Pamela LoPopolo.
According to the complaint, Mrs. LoPopolo was fatally injured while using the mower when it continued to move forward after she was incapacitated by a tree branch.
She suffered a broken back and numerous broken ribs. The mower should have had a feature that returned the steering bars to a neutral position when the user's hands are removed, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit claims negligence, wrongful death, failure to warn and instruct, strict liability, and breach of implied and express warranties against Toro.
Catherine Ryan of Dodds, Kidd, Ryan & Rowan represents the plaintiff.