WINFIELD – A Putnam County woman is suing Suddenlink for failing to provide her with disability benefits after she was injured on the job.
Dawn Barcroft has been employed by Suddenlink Communications for more than 10 years as a cable technician and Cequel Communications LLC is doing business as Suddenlink, according to a complaint filed in Putnam Circuit Court.
Barcroft claims on July 11, 2013, she was sent to a location to install cable television services to a residence and she was required to climb a utility pole to install the service.
The utility pole was located at the top of a steep earthen embankment, which made acces to the cable equipment very difficult and unsafe, according to the suit.
Barcroft claims she contacted the Suddenlink dispatcher to relay that she believed the site to be unsafe for her to be able to install the services and was informed that it had to be done, regardless of safety issues.
During the course of her performance of the installation duties, Barcroft fell down the steep embankment, resulting in injuries to her neck, back and shoulders, according to the suit.
Barcroft claims her injuries required her to have surgery in December and she may require additional surgeries.
Since the incident, Barcroft has been on "light duty," however, has not been working at Cequel since November, and the company denied her disability benefits, workers' compensation and any other benefits, according to the suit.
Barcroft claims she later learned that the same job had been refused on two different occasions by two different younger, male employees due to its unsafe nature and the two male employees were not forced to perform the work upon their raising safety concerns.
The plaintiff was released to return to work with restrictions on June 1, but, after numerous conversations with Cequel, Barcroft remains unemployed and is at a loss to understand her status with her employer of many years, according to the suit.
Barcroft is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is being represented by Carl Hostler of Prim Law Firm PLLC.
Putnam Circuit Court case number: 15-C-174