CHARLESTON – A Cabell County man says he sustained a severe knee injury while incarcerated in the Mount Olive Correctional Complex.
Taurean Johnson filed a lawsuit April 1 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Mount Olive Correctional Complex, its warden, David Ballard, and Jim Rubenstien, West Virginia Commissioner of Corrections, alleging negligence.
According to the complaint, Johnson was an inmate at Mount Olive on April 8, 2014, when the driver of a work van struck him, injuring his knee and prompting him to seek immediate medical attention. The suit says the van’s driver was reckless in operating the vehicle and blames the defendants for allegedly neglecting their duty to ensure safe operation of the van.
Johnson seeks a jury trial and compensatory damages for his alleged injuries, ongoing medical treatment, diminished work capacity, and emotional distress. He is represented by attorney Richard W. Weston of the Weston Law Office in Huntington.
Kanawha Circuit Court Case number 16-C-472