Lawsuit says worker's head crushed while in Roof Bolter

HUNTINGTON - A couple are suing J.H. Fletcher & Co. for injuries he allegedly sustained while on the job as a result of one of the company's products.

Maxxim Rebuilding Co. LLC was also named as a defendant in the suit.

Dennis Lee Gobble was employed by Dickenson-Russell Coal Company, according to a complaint filed Aug. 1 in Cabell Circuit Court.

Gobble claims on July 6, 2010, he was operating a machine known as a Roof Bolter manufactured by Fletcher when the machine came down on him while he was in the operator's compartment and crushed his head and body against the machine.

The defendants improperly placed the control mechanism for lowering the canopy of the operator's compartment beneath the canopy; failed to protect control levers against unintentional activation; failed to provide a "deadman" mechanism in the operator's compartment to prevent the canopy from being lowered as a result of accidental or inadvertent contact or unintentional sustained contact with the canopy control lever; and failed to provide warning, instructions and notice to the users of the Roof Bolter and/or to Gobble's employer about the dangerous and defective condition of the canopy control lever, according to the suit.

Gobble claims as a result of the defendant's breach of implied warranty, he was injured, disabled and damaged.

As a result of the actions and inactions of the defendants, Gobble suffered great physical and mental pain; extreme nervousness and mental anguish; and embarrassment. Gobble is permanently disfigured, has a permanent limp and his ability to engage in sexual activities has been impacted, according to the suit.

Gobble and his wife, DeAnna Gobble, are seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. They are being represented by R. Dean Hartley of Hartley & O'Brien PLLC and Patrick C. Timoney of Schwarz & Mongeluzzi LLP.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge David M. Pancake.

Cabell Circuit Court case number: 13-C-534