Fall at basketball game results in suit against Mason board, radio station

POINT PLEASANT – A Mason County woman is whistling a foul on the county board of education and a Roane County radio station for creating conditions that led to her becoming injured at a basketball game earlier this year.

The Mason County Board of Education and Star Communications are named as co-defendants in a personal injury lawsuit filed by Karen Jackson in Mason Circuit Court. In her complaint filed Oct. 24, Jackson,55, of Point Pleasant, alleges she tripped and fell over a cable line Star Communications was using as part of its broadcast in February of a girls basketball game in Point Pleasant.

Star Communications operates WVRC 104.7 FM in Spencer. Along with its Country music format, WVRC broadcasts area high school sporting events.

According to her suit, Jackson was working as an adult volunteer for the upcoming Black Knight Revue, an annual theatrical performance that includes accompaniment by the Black Knight Band, at Point Pleasant Junior/Senior High School on Feb. 22. That same evening, WVRC was broadcasting the game between the Richie County Lady Rebels and the Point Pleasant Lady Black Knights.

To aid in its broadcast, WVRC had a cable extended from the gymnasium, across the commons area of the school in front of the auditorium and into a phone jack in the main office. At a time not specified, Jackson alleges she tripped over the cable resulting in "severe and permanent injuries her muscular and skeletal systems, including, but not limited to, a comminuted fracture of the right humerous."

In her suit, Jackson says both the Board, and WVRC were responsible for her injuries as they did not take the necessary precautions to either have a phone jack in the gymnasium or properly secure the cable from the gym into the main office to prevent a tripping hazard. As a result of the injuries she sustained from her fall, Jackson says she's incurred "medical expenses, physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of wages and earnings capacity, loss of ability to perform household services and loss of capacity to enjoy life."

Jackson's husband, Kerr David, is listed as a co-plaintiff in the suit.

The Jacksons seek unspecified damages, interest, court costs and attorney fees. They are represented by C. Dallas Kayser with the Point Pleasant law firm of Kayser Layne and Clark.

The case is assigned to Judge David W. Nibert.

Mason Circuit Court case number 11-C-118