Mason Co. man files wrongful termination suit

WINFIELD – A Point Pleasant man says he was wrongfully terminated from his position after sustaining an on-the-job injury which he alleges occurred because he was told to work outside of his classification.

Doug. L. Rodgers filed suit July 23 in Putnam Circuit Court against New River Electrical Corporation and Dynamic Electric LLC.

Rodgers claims he was employed as a groundman for New River Electrical Corporation in April and defendant Dynamic Electric was overseeing the work of all New River employees at the John Amos power plant work site.

The plaintiff says he was told to listen to the foreman for Dynamic Electric whose word was final regarding operations at the site. Rodgers says he was not trained in substation work when he went to work for New River Electrical Corporation and was told that they would teach him what he needed to know. He asserts that New River Electrical Corporation foreman Roger Castro told him to work outside his classification and that if he refused, he would be replaced.

On April 21, the plaintiff was working on a cabinet inside the 765 transformer as instructed by the Dynamic foreman. He was told to remove old flex and replace it with new, then connect the new flex with a newly-installed cabinet, the filing states.

The lawsuit says that while Rodgers was working as instructed, he was shocked and briefly lost consciousness, awakening in a ditch when emergency personnel arrived. He was transported to Cabell Huntington Hospital and released later that day.

On April 22, he returned to work and met with New River foremen to fill out paperwork, but before it was completed, he was told by a nurse from Health Bridge to report to Cabell Huntington Occupational Health for further examination. He did so immediately and was cleared to return to work without restriction. Upon his return to work that day, he was suspended until the incident could be investigated, the suit states.

On April 24, Rodgers was notified he was terminated for working outside his classification. When the plaintiff tried to file a grievance with the union, he was told New River would place him on a no-hire list and AEP would place him on a blacklist that prevented him from working on AEP property for life.

The plaintiff says defendant New River failed to cover his injury under its workers compensation insurance and he has unpaid medical bills and lost two months of work time. He has also been forced to accept work in Clarksburg, hours from his home in Point Pleasant.

Rodgers seeks compensatory damages as well as the back and front pay he lost due to the defendants' actions.

He is represented by Joshua R. Martin, Michael O'Callaghan and Richard F. Neely of Neely and Callaghan in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Joseph Reeder.

Putnam Circuit Court case number 14-C-208