Miner blames company for crushed foot

LOGAN – A coal miner has sued his employer after his foot allegedly was run over by a malfunctioning wheel and crushed.

Jonathan Horton filed a lawsuit against Cliffs Logan County Coal on Jan. 20 in Logan Circuit Court.

According to the complaint, in September 2014, supervisors at the coal mine were aware of a bolt problem near the wheel before the accident that caused Horton to suffer serious injuries to his foot that required surgery.

Horton was terminated from his job in mid-December of that year, the suit states, and the company was then sold while Horton was off work on workers’ compensation leave.

Horton alleges his employer wrongfully terminated him and violated his human rights. He believes he was fired as retaliation and discriminated again after the accident, the suit says.

Attorney Nathan D. Brown, of Ferrell & Brown in Williamson, is representing Horton.

Logan Circuit Court case number: 15-C-11