Jason Mattioli and Michael Ossont of the Mattioli Law Firm in Scranton have just survived an important step in the process of seeking punitive damages on a novel basis: driving with a urinary tract infection.

That’s what the plaintiffs lawyers say caused Marie Gulbin to lose consciousness while driving and cross a double yellow center line in State Route 247 in Greenfield Township on Oct. 24, 2019. She crashed head-on into the car driven by Chrystal Clauss-Walton, then 27 and on her way to pick up her children from school. Mattioli said his client, Clauss-Walton, suffered multiple serious injuries to her back, neck and shoulder.