CHARLESTON -- A Rhode Island man and his wife are suing Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites after he was injured in January's carbon monoxide leak.
Steve Combs; Karen Combs; Premier Pools, LLC; JP Mechanical, Inc.; Holiday Hospitality Franchising, Inc.; Intercontinental Hotels Group Resources, Inc.; Six Continents Hotels, Inc.; and Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation were also named as defendants in the suit.
On Jan. 30, Bain Edmondson traveled from Rhode Island to West Virginia with his friend and co-worker William Moran, in order to perform contract work at the Charleston Yeager Airport the following day, according to a complaint filed April 4 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Edmondson claims on Jan. 31 he and Moran failed to report to work at 6:30 a.m. for their scheduled work shift and at approximately 9:30 a.m. concerned co-workers went to Holiday Inn Express in an attempt to find them.
Upon entrance into Edmondson and Moran's room, Edmondson was found in his bed, "unresponsive with thick frothy sputum coming out of his mouth" and Moran was found in the bed next to Edmondson, also unresponsive, and upon checking his pulse, it was determined that Moran was deceased, according to the suit.
Edmondson claims after he and Moran were discovered, emergency personnel were called for assistance and Edmondson was transferred to Charleston Area Medical Center.
Due to Edmondson's prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide, Edmondson spent several days to the hospital in a coma and was then transferred to the hyperbaric chamber for further treatment, according to the suit.
Edmondson claims the defendants negligently, carelessly and and unlawfully rented a room to him, knowing or having reason to know that the room may not be safe to inhabit.
As a result of the defendants' negligent, wrongful, knowing, reckless and intentional acts, Edmondson suffered serious personal injuries, including neural impairment, cognitive impairment, pulmonary damage, cardiac damage, pain and suffering and mental and emotional distress, according to the suit.
Edmondson and his wife, Dawn Edmondson, are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. They are being represented by Victoria L. Antion, Anne McGinness Kearse, Vincent Greene, W. Christopher Swett and Kristen M. Hermiz.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Carrie Webster.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 12-C-579
