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NEW YORK -- A Florida man involved last year in an accident with a Porsche driven by oft-injured Carl Pavano has sued the New York Yankees' pitcher for injuries allegedly sustained in the crash, which the player initially tried to hide from the team.
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Ernest DeLaura, 47, also named the Yankees as a defendant when he filed the lawsuit two months ago in Bronx state Supreme Court. Although the suit was brought in New York, DeLaura lives in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and the accident occurred in West Palm Beach, Fla.
DeLaura sought an unspecified amount of money in the lawsuit, which requested a default judgment of $5 million if Pavano and the Yankees failed to answer the complaint. DeLaura has already undergone shoulder surgery and faces a possible operation on his neck, said his lawyer, Paul Edelman.
Pavano was scratched from his scheduled spring training start Friday night in Tampa, Fla., against the Devil Rays. The Yankees announced that he was excused to address a personal matter, but the team wouldn't say if it was related to the lawsuit.
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| Carl Pavano didn't initially tell the Yanks about the Aug. 15 accident -- the same one he's being sued for. (Getty Images) |
It's possible Pavano could rejoin the team on Saturday. The problem is not believed to be a physical one.
The right-hander allowed one run in two innings during his first spring training start on March 4. The outing came eight days after his left instep was bruised by a line drive during batting practice.
Pavano, starting the third season of a $39.95 million, four-year contract, hasn't pitched in the major leagues since June 27, 2005, due to shoulder, back, buttocks, elbow and rib injuries.
The lawsuit charged that Pavano was "careless, reckless and negligent" while driving his 2006 Porsche last Aug. 15. Pavano was pitching in the minor leagues as he prepared for a return to the Yankees when the accident occurred.
Pavano didn't initially tell the team about the accident, and made three rehabilitation starts before seeking medical attention and discovering that he sustained two broken ribs in the crash.
"We're aware of the action," Pavano's agent, Gregg Clifton, said Friday. "We will defend this case to the utmost."
Clifton said Pavano might seek to move the lawsuit from the Bronx to Florida if DeLaura presses the case.
Yankees spokesman Ben Tuliebitz said it was team policy not to comment on legal matters.
DeLaura was sitting at a stop sign when Pavano's Porsche hydroplaned, sending the sports car sailing into his tractor-trailer, the lawsuit said. At the time, a police report was issued saying Pavano was at fault in the accident, but there was no record of the pitcher receiving a ticket.
According to the lawsuit, DeLaura sustained "severe and permanent personal injuries."
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