A Greensburg woman was playing slots at Live Casino Pittsburgh when an overhead pipe burst, covering her with raw sewage, according to a lawsuit filed this week in Westmoreland County Court.
Rita Romagnoli contracted bacterial pneumonia and was a hospital patient for 15 days, the suit states.
She and husband Robert Romagnoli are suing Stadium Casino Westmoreland, which operates the Hempfield facility, and CBL & Associates Properties, the owner of Westmoreland Mall where the casino is located.
“She didn’t know what had fallen on her, but it didn’t take her long to figure out it smelled pretty bad,” said the couple’s Pittsburgh attorney, Joseph Hudock Jr. She went home, took a shower and returned to the casino, he said.
“She didn’t know what had happened,” Hudock said. “A couple days later she ended up in the hospital with bacterial pneumonia.”
He said doctors confirmed that she had been exposed to human fecal matter.
Hudock couldn’t speak to his client’s long-term health prognosis.
“It was very traumatizing,” he said. “She could have died.”
Rita Romagnoli is claiming the pipe burst on July 28 as a result of negligence and that both the casino owner and mall operator knew of an ongoing dangerous condition, according to the suit. They are seeking $30,000 in damages.
“The negligence of the defendant was the direct and proximate cause of the plaintiff’s harm,” the suit states.
“It’s something that should never have happened,” Hudock said of the burst pipe. “The law says the owner of a business has the duty to inspect for defects to make sure the premises are safe for the purpose for which the public is invited on them.”
When contacted by phone by a reporter seeking comment, Romagnoli said she wanted to contact her attorney. Hudock said he doesn’t believe it’s in his client’s best interest to discuss the case with news media.
A representative from Live Casino Pittsburgh declined to comment on the pending litigation. A representative from CBL Properties did not respond to a message seeking comment.
The casino’s gaming area is in renovated space that formerly housed the Bon-Ton store. It was home to Troutman’s department store when the mall was developed in the mid-1970s.
The casino opened in November 2020. There are 750 slot machines, 40 table games, a sports book, restaurants and other amenities, according to the casino’s website.
Raw sewage is considered a biohazard by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exposure to sewage means exposure to bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses that can cause intestinal, lung and other infections.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
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