Aerobics Instructor Mary Beth Primis Sues Over Gym Shooting

Oct. 5, 2009 — -- The aerobics instructor who was 10 weeks pregnant when she survived the August shooting at a Pennsylvania health club is suing the estate of the alleged shooter, George Sodini, for the "mental anguish" and "multiple gunshot wounds" she said she incurred during the massacre.

Mary Beth Primis, 26, filed a civil complaint this morning in Allegheny County, Pa., against Sodini's estate. Primis' husband, Alex Primis, is also listed as a plaintiff in the complaint.

Sodini, 48, allegedly stormed into a crowded aerobics class led by Primis at the L.A. Fitness health club in Bridgeville, Pa., just after 8 p.m. Aug. 4. After turning off the lights, police said, Sodini sprayed the classroom with as many as 52 bullets, leaving three people dead and eight others injured. He then shot himself to death.

"The Primis' are trying to move forward with their lives as best they can, and Mary Beth feels very fortunate and blessed she survived this, but more so that her unborn child is doing OK," said George Kontos, Primis' attorney.

Due in March with her first child, Primis is suing on seven counts, including battery, because of what she says was "stress and harm while pregnant" that put her at risk for "possible miscarriage."

Primis had multiple gunshot wounds, some of which exited her body, that have since left scarring, Kontos said.

Also suing for intentional infliction of emotional distress, Primis said in the complaint that she has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and "associated emotional mental ailments" as a result of Sodini's attack.

While Primis is so far feeling healthy physically, Kontos said, she has suffered greatly mentally.

"Primis definitely has some residual problems," Kontos said.

Primis, who was a fitness instructor at several different health clubs in the area, has so far been unable to "engage in that type of employment," Kontos said.

"There is a fear of being in certain situations," Kontos said of Primis. "This was her livelihood and her job and something she liked very much."

Suspect Left Money to Alma Mater

Primis is asking for an excess of $175,000 in the complaint, a figure that will likely increase once they learn how much Sodini's estate is actually worth, Kontos said. The only thing known about the value of the estate so far is that Sodini owned a home and had left $225,000 to his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, in his will, Kontos said. The university has rejected the offer.

Rebecca Bowman, the attorney for the Sodini estate, said she had yet to receive the complaint and that, even if she had, she would not discuss ongoing litigation.

While Primis' complaint is the first one Bowman is aware of being filed, she would not specify how many other people have filed notices, or writs, that they plan to sue the estate.

At least five other people have filed writs, according to The Associated Press.

Michael Sodini, the brother of the alleged shooter, is the executor of the estate and did not respond to messages left at his Mars, Pa., home.

In interviews after the massacre, mental health professionals told ABCNews.com that it would not be surprising if some of the survivors or witnesses of the shooting suffered from mental health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder in the months following the attack.

"Traumatic events, especially when they're so utterly sudden and unpredictable and in a safe place like a health club, are that much harder to cope with," said Dr. Paul Ragan, an associate professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

"When you first see a person with acute stress disorder, they look numb," said Ragan, who has worked as a military psychiatrist, adding that experts have coined a term, "the thousand yard stare," for the look on traumatized victims' faces.

"They seem dazed and confused. The world seems very unreal to them, and later they often have amnesia and don't remember all the elements of the traumatic event," Ragan said.

He said a full-blown acute stress disorder can sometimes take as long as a week to develop.

Stress Disorders Are Common

It's common for people who witness traumatic events to begin to replay the incident in their minds over and over again, especially if there are everyday triggers that remind them of the event, experts say.

"The whole ordeal becomes an intrusive memory," Ragan said. "Similar situations will trigger the memory of what happened and will bring back the whole experience."