HUNTINGTON — The Cabell Circuit Court has dismissed a lawsuit against Dick's Sporting Goods, alleging injuries sustained on an inversion table.
The case was dismissed pursuant to West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1) on Dec. 30, 2014. The notice of dismissal filed in the case, which was one page with two sentences, provided no explanation for why it was dismissed.
"No answer or motion for summary judgment has been served by any defendants," the notice states.
The notice was signed by the plaintiff's attorney, James A. McKowen of James F. Humphreys & Associates in Charleston.
Dick's Sporting Goods and Paradigm Health & Fitness Inc. were named as defendants in the suit, which was filed Oct. 29. 2013, in Cabell Circuit Court.
Rhoda V. Lawson alleged she purchased a Paradigm inversion table at Dick's on Sept. 23, 2012, and had used the table daily, gradually increasing the angle each day to bring the table from horizontal to vertical.
When Lawson was attempting the full vertical inversion of 180 degrees on Oct. 31, 2012, her suit said, a mechanism in the table that supported her failed and she fell head-first onto the floor.
Lawson said she was using the table according to the manufacturer's instructions that were provided by Dick's when she purchased the table, which was in line with the use in which the table was designed.
Lawson said she suffered a concussion and injuries to her head, neck and back. Lawson also alleged she further suffered from physical pain and emotional distress and sustained a loss of income and incurred medical bills as a result of her injuries.
The suit said Dick's and Paradigm breached their duties in failing to design the product so as to avoid an unreasonable risk of harm, failed to use reasonable care in testing the product and failed to use reasonable care in the study of the product to evaluate its safety.
Lawson sought compensatory and punitive damages.
The case had been assigned to Circuit Judge Paul T. Farrell, who was recently appointed to the West Virginia Supreme Court to serve the suspension of Justice Allen Loughry.
Cabell Circuit Court case number: 13-C-804
