MADISON - A lawsuit involving a former Patriot Coal Corporation employee who was allegedly injured while working at the Coalburg No. 1 Mine was settled and dismissed last year.
Douglas M. Epling and Mountain Edge Mining were also named as defendants in the suit.
Timothy Bevel and the defendants came to the court and jointly announced all matters and differences between the parties have been fully settled, compromised and adjusted, according to a Final Dismissal Order filed July 12 in Boone Circuit Court.
Bevel claimed he was instructed “to stand at an elevated height on top of the canopy of a moving hauler along with a co-worker to hammer and tighten rollers into place using a sledge hammer and hand tools while within close proximity to each other, and without the use of any fall protection,” according to a complaint filed May 6, 2011, in Boone Circuit Court.
The defendant's instruction resulted in Bevel being “struck in the head with the coworker’s sledge hammer,” according to the suit.
Bevel claimed he fell to the ground unconscious and it took approximately 45 minutes to evacuate him by flight to intensive care in a Charleston hospital.
Bevel had serious head and neck injuries that included skull fracture and traumatic brain injury, according to the suit.
Bevel was seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. He was represented by Robert B. Warner and Lynnette Simon Marshall of Warner Law Offices PLLC.
Mountain Edge Mining was represented by Christopher A. Brumley and Eric T. Frye of Flaherty Sensabaugh Bonasso PLLC. Patriot Coal Corporation was represented by Justin C. Taylor of Bailey & Wyant PLLC.
The case was assigned to Circuit Judge William S. Thompson.
Boone Circuit Court case number: 11-C-94
Lawsuit against Patriot Coal Corporation settled
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