Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC

2925 PGA Boulevard, Suite 200, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410

Telephone: (561) 515-1400 Facsimile (561) 515-1401
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE
SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND
FOR LEON COUNTY, FLORIDA




CHARLES W. PIKE,

Plaintiff,

vs.

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION,
a governmental entity,

Defendant.
__________________________________________/

CASE NO:



COMPLAINT

COMES NOW, the Plaintiff, CHARLES PIKE, by and though his undersigned counsel,
and sues Defendant FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, a governmental
entity and states the following:
JURISDICTIONAL ALLEGATIONS
1. This is an action for damages in excess of Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00).
2. Plaintiff Charles Pike is a resident of Lake County, Florida, over eighteen years of age,
and is otherwise sui juris.
3. At all material times hereto, Defendant Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT),
was and is the state agency with the authority and duty to plan, build, repair, and maintain the
state highway system pursuant to section 334.035, Florida Statutes, including the roadway
construction project identified as FPN: 417164-1-52-01, in Lake County, Florida.
4. Defendant FDOT waived its sovereign immunity as provided in section 768.28, Florida
Statutes, for its negligence in failing to keep, operate, repair, and maintain in a safe condition
Pike v. Trinity Industries, et. al.
Case No.: 5:12-cv-00146-Oc-32PRL
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Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC
2925 PGA Boulevard, Suite 200, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
Telephone: (561) 515-1400 Facsimile (561) 515-1401

State Road 33 (SR33) in the area near the intersection of SR33 and Groveland Airport Road in
Lake County, Florida.
5. More than six months have expired prior to the filing of this Complaint since FDOT and
the Florida Department of Financial Services were placed on notice in accordance with section
768.28, Florida Statutes.
6. Venue is appropriate in Leon County, Florida, where Defendant FDOT maintains its
principal headquarters, pursuant to the home venue privilege. See Florida Pub. Serv. Comm'n v.
Triple A Enterprises, Inc., 387 So. 2d 940, 942 (Fla. 1980) (Absent waiver or exception in civil
actions brought against the state, its agencies or subdivisions, venue properly lies in the county
of its principal headquarters.)
7. All conditions precedent to the filing of the action have been met or waived.
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
8. In 2007, FDOT and its agents, subcontractors, and/or employees, were involved in a
construction project (FPN: 417164-1-52-01) on SR33 in the area near the intersection of SR33
and Groveland Airport Road in Lake County, Florida.
9. FPN: 417164-1-52-01 included the installation of an ET-Plus end terminal system and
guardrail system manufactured by Trinity Highway Products, LLC, which was comprised of over
fifty component parts.
10. Guardrails and end terminal systems are comprised of many separate and distinct parts
that need to be assembled and installed pursuant to detailed design drawings provided by the
manufacturer. Failure to assemble and install a guardrail and end treatment exactly pursuant to
Pike v. Trinity Industries, et. al.
Case No.: 5:12-cv-00146-Oc-32PRL
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Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC
2925 PGA Boulevard, Suite 200, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
Telephone: (561) 515-1400 Facsimile (561) 515-1401

the design drawings can lead to the devices failing to perform as designed and, thus, failing to
provide the intended protection to the motoring public.
11. A key feature of the Trinity ET-Plus end terminal system is that, upon impact, the end
piece (or extruded head) is pushed by the vehicle along the first section of guardrail until it hits a
self-releasing cable, which then causes the guardrail to feed through the extruder head, flattening
and deflecting away from the vehicle. The ET-Plus assembly includes a rail with specially
designed slots into which the ET-Plus cable anchor bracket fits. Other (non-ET-Plus) cable
anchor brackets do not fit into these specially designed slots and, therefore, cannot properly be
installed on the ET-Plus rail.
12. In 2009, there was an accident at the State Road 33 and Groveland Airport Road
intersection that caused impact to the ET-Plus guardrail and required its repair.
13. FDOT employee Richard Houle repaired the guardrail with an FDOT field crew and
prison inmates by using a random collection of parts from the FDOT warehouse, rather than with
ET-Plus replacement parts, including an obsolete piece of guardrail built in 1965 that had not
been approved for use on U.S. highways since 1994.
14. FDOT used only a single ET-Plus piecethe extruder headwhen repairing the
guardrail system. But, instead of using an ET-Plus breakaway cable anchor bracket with the ET-
Plus slotted rail that goes with it, FDOT fastened the ET-Plus extruder head to a parallel end
treatment rail using a cable anchor system that bolts onto such a rail. Connecting the ET-Plus
extruder head in this fashion rendered the end terminal completely nonfunctional in that it could
no longer slide along the guardrail, feeding, flattening, and deflecting the guardrail away from
the vehicle as the ET-Plus system was designed. Instead, the end terminal essentially became
part of an immoveable battering ram awaiting impact.
Pike v. Trinity Industries, et. al.
Case No.: 5:12-cv-00146-Oc-32PRL
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Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC
2925 PGA Boulevard, Suite 200, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
Telephone: (561) 515-1400 Facsimile (561) 515-1401

15. On or about October 29, 2010, at or about 9:05 p.m., in the area near the intersection of
SR33 and Groveland Airport Road in Lake County, Florida, Plaintiff PIKE was a front seated
passenger in a 2007 Ford truck, Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
1FTRX12W77NA54645, Florida License Number K014RQ.
16. At that time and place, the 2007 Ford, driven by Leighton Kish, was traveling
southbound on SR 33 when an animal ran out into the road and Leighton Kish swerved the truck
to miss the animal. As a result, he lost control of the truck and it left the roadway. Immediately
thereafter, the right front passenger side of the truck collided straight on with the ET-Plus
guardrail that bordered SR33.
17. During the collision, the ET-Plus guardrail failed to perform as designed because it was
improperly installed. Because the end terminal used a cable anchor system that was bolted to the
guardrail instead of being fastened by self-releasing hooks, the guardrail could not feed through
the extruder head and flatten and slide away from the impact. Thus, when the guardrail was
impacted by the Ford truck, the end terminal and guardrail pierced through the Ford trucks
passenger side front fender, cowling, and floor board, and entered its passenger compartment.
18. During the collision, the ET-Plus guardrail penetrated the passenger compartment of the
truck and sliced Plaintiff PIKEs left leg, below the knee, all the way to the bone.
19. Upon arrival at the hospital, PIKES leg could not be saved and had to be surgically
amputated.
20. As a result of the improperly repaired guardrail and end terminal, Plaintiff PIKE suffered
injuries, including a below-the-knee amputation of his left leg.
Pike v. Trinity Industries, et. al.
Case No.: 5:12-cv-00146-Oc-32PRL
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Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC
2925 PGA Boulevard, Suite 200, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
Telephone: (561) 515-1400 Facsimile (561) 515-1401

NEGLIGENCE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

21. Plaintiff re-alleges paragraphs 1 - 20 as if fully set forth herein.
22. Pursuant to Florida law, Defendant FDOT is responsible for authorizing and regulating
the construction of the state highway system as part of its FDOT projects, specifically FPN:
417164-1-52-01.
23. As part of this responsibility, FDOT had a duty to properly install, inspect, maintain,
repair, and oversee FPN: 417164-1-52-01 to ensure compliance with FDOTS duty to protect
individuals such as PIKE from unnecessary and unreasonable risks.
24. FDOT also had a duty to ensure its agents, subcontractors, and/or employees were
properly trained to install, repair, maintain, and inspect the subject guardrail so as to avoid
exposing individuals such as PIKE to unnecessary and unreasonable risk.
25. FDOT also had a duty to ensure its agents, subcontractors, and/or employees properly
installed, repaired, maintained, and inspected the subject guardrail so as to avoid exposing
individuals such as PIKE to unnecessary and unreasonable risk.
26. FDOT breached its duty in one or more of the following ways:
a. Failing to properly install, construct, maintain, repair, and/or inspect the subject
guardrail;
b. Failing to discover the hazardous and unsafe condition of the subject guardrail;
c. Failing to correct the hazardous and unsafe condition of the subject guardrail;
d. Failing to ensure its agents, subcontractors, and/or employees were properly trained
to install, construct, maintain, repair, and/or inspect the subject guardrail;
e. Failing to ensure its agents, subcontractors, and/or employees properly installed,
constructed, maintained, repaired, and/or inspected the subject guardrail.
Pike v. Trinity Industries, et. al.
Case No.: 5:12-cv-00146-Oc-32PRL
Page 6

Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC
2925 PGA Boulevard, Suite 200, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
Telephone: (561) 515-1400 Facsimile (561) 515-1401

27. FDOTS acts and/or omissions created an unreasonable risk of injuries to vehicle
occupants and the motoring public, including Plaintiff PIKE.
28. As a direct and proximate result of the Defendant FDOTS aforementioned breach of
duty, Plaintiff suffered permanent, catastrophic bodily injury and resulting pain and suffering,
disability, disfigurement, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, the expense
of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of earnings, loss of ability to earn
money and aggravation of a previously existing condition, if any. The losses are either
permanent or continuing and Plaintiff will suffer the losses in the future.
WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff, CHARLES PIKE, demands judgment for compensatory
damages and all other relief this Court deems proper against Defendant FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
REQUEST FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiff requests a jury trial on all issues so triable as a matter of right.

Respectfully submitted,



THEODORE J. LEOPOLD, ESQ.
Florida Bar No.: 705608
[email protected]
ADAM J. LANGINO, ESQ.
Florida Bar No.: 0031368
Email: [email protected]
Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC
2925 PGA Boulevard, Suite 200
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
(561) 515-1400