Black Lab Sues Con Ed after Manhole Cover Blast

May 13th, 2015. By LucyC

Ok—this ain’t so crazy—well the circumstances are—but not the lawsuit.

Abby the Black Lab is suing Con Edison—together with her owner, 71 year old Salvatore Grillo—both of whom were seriously injured in a random explosion near Prospect Park, Brooklyn, in February.

Random explosion, you ask? Why yes—an exploding manhole cover actually. (I never did trust those things). Abby and Grillo were out for stroll when a cast-iron manhole cover exploded, as they do, apparently. Who knew?

It’s all a bit scary, when you begin pondering the whys and wherefores. However, there was a spate of exploding manhole covers last winter, hundreds apparently, which resulted from salt in melting snow seeping underground and damaging wires, and KaBOOM. But—back to our story.

According to the lawsuit filed by Grillo, “Plaintiffs Salvatore Grillo and Abby Grillo, canine, were walking upon said sidewalk when they were struck by a manhole cover that exploded, upon information and belief, due to an underground and/or subterranean explosion and fire,” the papers state. “Abby Grillo, canine, sustained multiple and severe injuries including but not limited to injuries to her head, body, singeing of the body, fur and paws and psychological injury including fear to leave the home,” the lawsuit states. PTSD perhaps?

Abby’s owner was even more seriously injured. Not surprising when you realize the blast was so strong that it sent the cast iron lid shooting 25 feet skyward, according to CNBC.

Apparently, Abby was so spooked by the blast that she ran off into Prospect Park and was eventually found about an hour later at a pharmacy blocks away. She was taken to Sean Casey Animal Rescue, which tracked down her Salvatore and his wife Ilene.

Interestingly, although Ilene was not on the ill-fated walk, she is named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, which states that she is suffering from “the loss of her husband’s love, services, society, consortium and companionship.” Not good.

According to the New York Post, which naturally covered this story, a Con Edison spokesman said only, “We will address this in the courtroom.” So they’re going to court? Really?

According to the lawsuit, Con Ed is accused of negligence, in part because it failed to prevent the wiring from eroding, didn’t install a manhole cover that “would not fly during underground vault explosions,” and didn’t warn the public to stay away from the potential threat.

Con Edison, I suppose in an effort to offer some reassurance, has said that New York City has about 250,000 manhole covers. They are typically 2 feet wide and can weigh as much as 260 lbs. That’s a great comfort. But most of the lids are lighter. Great. You know, I really don’t want to find out.

So, note to self… keep a large distance from manhole covers… you just never know what’s going to happen when you go for a walk.

Here’s to a full recovery for both Salvatore and Abby!

This was posted on Wednesday, May 13th, 2015 at 11:35 am and is filed under Crazy Sh*t Lawyers See . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.