The bar stool at issue
PITTSBURGH – Scooching up to the bar cost an Allegheny County man part of his finger, a lawsuit against a Pittsburgh gastropub alleges.
Michael and Jamie Gaffney sued The Yard on Oct. 28 in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas as a result of a bar stool “essentially guillotining his right index finger.” A scramble for his missing finger was complicated when staff moved the chair to the back with his digit still in it, the suit says.
“During these moments of panic, put simply, the staff at The Yard were useless and lacking in any sense of urgency,” the suit says.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of Feb. 9. Michael and his wife sat in two high-top chairs and moved them closer to the bar.
Gaffney moved his butt off the chair to do so, but the seat came off the metal frame. His right hand was caught between the seat and a sharp metal frame, then his index finger was severed when the seat came back down on it.
The frame cut off the tip of his finger, starting at the bottom of the fingernail, the suit says.
“(T)he high-top chair was in disrepair and defective and should have never been available to patrons,” he says.
The fingertip was found, and Gaffney headed to the hospital with it in a plastic bag. Staff at UPMC Presbyterian told him it could not be reattached.
The aftermath included intense pain, physical therapy and a struggle with everyday living, the suit alleges. He has a hard time typing, writing, buckling a seatbelt and playing sports with his family, it adds.
“At this point, it is clear Mr. Gaffney’s injury is permanent in nature and will continue to affect him for the rest of his life,” the complaint says.
Scott Simon of Robert Peirce & Associates represents the Gaffneys.
