CHARLESTON – A road construction worker says a “careless” truck driver caused a concrete roller to hit him and severely damage his lower legs.
Gary A. Stiltner of Oak Hill, Ohio, filed his complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court against Ohio-based MNH Truck Leasing Co. LLC and driver Earl Potts, who also is from Ohio.
According to the complaint, Stiltner was working on a construction crew repairing a section of southbound Interstate 77 south of Beckley in Raleigh County. He says the weather was clear and the road surface was dry.
He says Potts was working for MNH and operating a 2015 Volvo Truck Tractor pulling a full trailer near mile marker 37 southbound while the construction crew was replaced large damaged sections of concrete in the closed right lane. Quick drying cement was poured and finished using a concrete rolling machine.
Potts’ tractor-trailer merged into the left lane around midnight, but his driving was “inattentive, careless and improper” as he “failed to keep the vehicle in the proper lane and committed a lane violation into the active construction zone.
“The right rear tires of the trailer driven by Potts penetrated the active construction zone in the closed right lane impacting the concrete roller, causing the roller to rotate in a clockwise motion and strike Gary Stiltner in the lower legs,” the complaint states.
It goes on to say Potts stopped the vehicle after running through some newly poured wet concrete, then he fled the scene. He later was stopped by State Troopers who took pictures of the wheels and tires on the back of the trailer with concrete residue. The complaint also says Potts had a lengthy history of traffic and drug violations.
On October 2, Stiltner’s attorneys contacted MNH and requested the truck and trailer involved not be moved or altered for investigative purposes. On October 27, MNH informed counsel that one tire and rim had been replaced on the trailer October 1 and that the replaced tire had been shredded.
“Because Potts was stopped by West Virginia State Police multiple times under suspicion of causing the collision that injured Mr. Stiltner on September 23rd, 2020, MNH knew or should have known of a potential civil action involving the tractor-trailer driven by Potts,” the complaint states. “MNH intentionally and/or negligently destroyed the trailer tire(s) which were photographed on the night of the incident by West Virginia State Police as showing concrete residue in an effort to cover up Potts’ responsibility for the collision.”
Stiltner accuses Potts of negligence, MNH of vicarious liability, negligent hiring and retention and spoliation of evidence.
He seeks compensatory damages for past and future medical expenses, past and future pain and suffering, past and future physical limitations, past and future diminished capacity to enjoy life, past lost wages, future loss of earning capacity, past and future annoyance and inconvenience and other injuries. He also seeks punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, attorney fees, court costs, expenses and other relief.
Stiltner is being represented by Norm Daniels, Ford Francis and Thomas Spears of Daniels Law Firm in Charleston as well as Tim DiPiero, Robert Bastress III and Luca DiPiero of DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 20-C-992