Motorcyclist sues paving company after accident

MORGANTOWN - A man who was injured after the motorcycle he was riding hit a drain created by a local road paving company is suing the company.

Daniel F. Slonaker filed a suit June 4 in Monongalia Circuit Court against Mountaineer Contractors Inc.

According to the suit, Mountaineer Contractors paved several public roads in Morgantown, including U.S. 119. As part of the paving project, certain drain openings were placed in the pavement, "at significant depth below the surface of the roadway, creating a hazard to persons using the roadway," the suit says.

Slonaker was riding his motorcycle July 15, 2005, when his front wheel entered the hole surrounding the drain. According to the suit, Slonaker was thrown over the handlebars of the motorcycle and hit his head on the pavement.

Slonaker sustained several injuries, including a closed head injury, which allegedly resulted in the loss of memory and mental impairment.

Slonaker, through attorney Larry O. Ford, claims the accident was the fault of the paving company, because the "dangerous hole" was not marked.

Slonaker seeks compensatory damages from Mountaineer Contractors Inc.

Monongalia Circuit Court case number 07-C-360