CHARLESTON – A man is suing Speedway, LLC, after he says he suffered a shock from an ungrounded light pole.
An employee known only as John Doe was also named as a defendant in the suit.
On Dec. 17, 2010, Shane Holstine went to Speedway to purchase kerosene, according to a complaint filed Dec. 17 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Holstine claims while there he slipped and fell on a patch of black ice and reached out to grab a light pole to regain his balance. However, the electricity to the light pole was not grounded and he was severely shocked.
Speedway and the unidentified manager of the Speedway on Campbells Creek Drive in Kanawha County permitted the area fronting the kerosene pump to be so obstructed by the accumulation of ice to render it unsafe for travel in the usual mode, with ordinary care and permitted a light pole in the area known to be used by customers to not be properly grounded, according to the suit.
Holstine claims the accumulation of ice at the area surrounding the kerosene pump and the ungrounded electric light pole were the proximate cause of injury that he sustained.
The defendants failed to correct the defect or regularly inspect and keep the area clear of ice and unnatural electrical current, according to the suit.
Holstine is seeking compensatory damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. He is being represented by Kimberly E. Williams and Mark A. Hunt.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Louis H. Bloom.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 12-C-2479
Lawsuit: Man tripped on ice, shocked self on light pole
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